New Time, New Place
by snekochan
Summary: Rosette and Chrono weren't supposed to die. The Angels of Peace have sent the souls of the unlucky pair to the year 2006, in hopes to bring them together. Unfourtunatly, new Rosette doesn't seem to like the idea...especially not her new, weird land lord!
1. Her name is Rosette Christov

**A/N** Hello, Snekochan here. I didn't think I'd actually put a story up, but it's so much fun! I'm a drawing person really, but I started out writing stories, so I guess you could say I'm going back to my roots- sassafras, no wonder my friends say I'm weird! Who actually talks like that? Anyway, this is my first fan fiction story, and I really hope you like it. Note on a couple of things. I'm going to change Rosette's and Chrono's personalities a little, just because I prefer stories involving growth (even if I can't write them- I can try!), so please don't get mad! Also, the things Rosette says about the city of St. John's (early in the story) are **not true** in my opinion. Ano...there was something-oh yah! About Chrono. In this story, the main Chrono (it'll make sense, I promise) is human, and **does not look like a 12 year old! ** Give the guy a break! He's also not in his full "adult" height either- he's like he was when he was living at Eden, only skinnier and a little shorter- he's still growing. Think average teenage male with purple hair and big red eyes, 'kay! Anyhow, I think that's it, so here I go!

**Disclaimer:** look, I may draw comics, but I'm not brilliant (I can't spell either, forgive me). I do not own Chrono or any of the things/ people, oh you know what I'm talking about. Do I have to drag this out?

Rosette closed her eyes. He was back, he was finally back! She pressed her face into his chest, wrapping her arms around him as they toppled over, back among the pews. He'd lost an arm and an eye, but he was alive and he was here. Chrono. They were still falling. Puzzled, she looked up into his face, hoping for a clue, but he looked just as confused as she did as they continued down, down, down into a mist of grey. They could tell nothing of their surroundings and soon Rosette wasn't even sure that they were still falling, because above looked just like below. Were they even going down? Frowning, Rosette took hold of Chrono's hand and took an experimental step. Instantly, the sensation of falling stopped

"Where are we?" she asked. "And what the heck just happened?" Chrono narrowed his eye, trying to see through the fog.

"I think there's a light up ahead. Should we-" Rosette was already marching up ahead. For all her weakness before Chrono came, she felt fantastic, fluid and strong and- Rosette put a hand to her chest and gasped.

"Chrono!" she turned, nearly knocking him over because he was sticking close behind her. Without hesitating, she lay her palm over his heart.

Like her own, it was still. Rosette looked towards the approaching light. They were dead.

"Hey there, what's this?" a wiry man with a lamp on a Shepard's crook marched up. "Who're you two then? We got the lot for today." he narrowed his bleary eyes at them. "A demon- oh good Lord! A demon and a nun..." he started flipping franticly through a notebook. "Oh! Antham, that pathetic excuse for an Angel! Come along you two. I must get this straitened out." He darted away into the fog, leaving Chrono and Rosette to follow. They did, for there was nothing else to do. Led into an old cabin by the old man, they were told to wait. Numbly, they sat by the heatless fire, unable to ignore the bellows from within the room. Rosette shoved a smile on her face. Chrono smiled back.

"We're together in this, anyway." he noted, his smile becoming a little more truthful. "That's better than I expected." before

Rosette could answer, the door opened and the man scurried out.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE HERE! THEY WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD YET YOU FOOL!" A second man stormed from the room, but he calmed at the sight of the Sinner and the nun. "Rosette and Chrono. A pleasure to meet you." he said curtly. He minced over and tipped Rosette's face up. "Hmmm. Well it can't be helped. I need you're help for a few years anyway. Yes, this may work out after all." he stepped back and looked at the pair. "Listen closely. There is no place yet in heaven or hell for either of you because we haven't had a chance to solve where you're going. It's oddly difficult, because of...oh anyway, that can wait. I'm sending you two ahead in time, where you'll get a second chance, of sorts. Do realize how often we angels have reincarnated you? And every time we do, some stupid fellow has to come along and ruin it. Ah well. You'll get together eventually. Now then." the man raised his hand. "Terribly sorry about this. You'll have to be patient." He snapped his fingers and the room swirled into black.

"Rosette!" the girl gasped as the black formed tendrils around her, dragging her into the deeper darkness that had taken over the fireplace.

"No!" She stretched out her arm, trying to catch Chrono's hand as he vanished, fully enveloped. Then she knew nothing.

**YEAR: 2006. LOCATION: BRADFORD STREET, ST. JOHN'S NEWFOUNDLAND.**

This sucked. This really, truly sucked.

Rosette Christov dropped her suitcase beside her, comparing the address on the "house" before her to the one on the paper her new teacher had given her. NO way was she staying in this dump. No friggin' way. Scowling, the blond girl marched up to the house, across the rotting wood of the porch and knocked on the peeling paint of the front door with the least surface area of her knuckles possible. For a moment there was silence, then she heard a thump of something falling, then finally, the door creaked open.

"Hello. You must be Rosette. Come on in." Rosette turned to the source of the voice, the person who'd opened the door, narrowing her eyes as she did. It was a guy, about her age. He was skinny and bookish, a pair of glasses perched on his nose. Great. Now she was stuck living with a family that had this freak in it. Said "freak" raised an eyebrow at her glare and shut the door. "Come on then. I'll show you to your room." he picked up her bag and led her up a set of stairs- better painted than the outside, but still showing wear. Didn't these people know about repainting? The hall he brought her down was the same situation, worn, tattered around the edges, reeking of people who didn't change with every new trend. Staying in style obviously wasn't high on these people's lists. She eyes her guide's clothes. No, style was something she didn't think this guy understood. She could only hope the rest of the family wasn't this clueless.

"Where's everyone else?" Rosette asked, keeping her tone cool. He glanced at her in surprise.

"The other boarders? At work and at school. I stayed off today so there'd be someone to let you in. Oh yeah." he dug in his pocket and pulled out a key. "Here you are. This is the key to the front door so you can let yourself in if there's no one else home. "

Rosette took the key from him with two fingers and slipped it into her bag.

""Tha-ank you." she ground out. He shrugged.

"Whatever. Here's you're room, 2b." he opened the door to a plain room, painted white at one time, that contained a bed, a closet, a desk and chair, and a chest of drawers, none of which matched. "Sorry about the furniture. I wasn't expecting to get another boarder so soon." He laughed sheepishly. "The house's blocked up now. There's some other girls you're age here, Az- oops, Azmaria Hendric, Fiore Maggin and Satella Harvey. They're in 2a, c and d. Joshua McKay is upstairs with Viede Holloway, and I'll be downstairs in the lower apartment. Kitchen's downstairs on the first floor, along with the living room and the study." He took off his glasses and rubbed them with the hem of his sweater, squinting at her. "Bathrooms down the hall to your right." He put his glasses back on and headed back to the stairs. "Give a shout if you need anything, my name's Chrono." Thankfully, he said nothing else and went down stairs. This really, really sucked.

Rosette stomped into her "new" room. Were all the butlers in Newfoundland that chatty? Sheesh. Oh well. She sat on the bed, poking at the faded coverlet. At least there were other girls here, ones that were here age and a couple guys upstairs. What was it Ms. Valentine had said? You'll find it's not so bad, working and living with others. It'll give you a chance to stretch your wings. You never know, you might even like it. Rosette highly doubted that. How could anybody like it here, in this dump with no sign of a maid to clean up and put away clothes, let alone a weird, freak of a butler.

"Hey Chrono! Is the newwy here yet?" a voice called from the front door as Rosette heard it creak open.

"Satella! Don't call her that!" A younger, more childish voice cried. "You'll hurt her feelings!" There was a scrambling sound,

Like a play fight, laughs, one of which was a male chuckle, then footsteps on the stairs and a knock on her door. Chrono opened it, coming in.

"Rosette? I'd like you to meet Satella, Azzy and Fi, the other female borders." Rosette groaned as three, very different girls came into the room.

"Thanks Chrono!" The tallest said, patting the teen's purple hair. "We'll take it from here if you'll get down into the kitchen and make dinner, I'm starved." Rosette glanced at the clock and started, realizing she hadn't eaten for almost 9 hours. He stomach growled. Chrono laughed.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going. But it's your week to buy the groceries Satella." Chrono strolled out of the room, and they heard him go down the steps. Azmaria squealed.

"You're Rosette! Oh that's so cool! And you're lucky. Chrono said he'd do perogies for supper, and his are always really good." The girl, who looked about twelve, sat on the chair while the other two sat on the desk. Rosette frowned.

"So he's a butler and a cook? How cheap is this place?" she groaned, laying back.

"About two hundred Canadian and one grocery shop a month." Satella said cheerfully. "It's not a bad deal, because Chrono does all the cooking and household cleaning. Don't worry," She added at Rosette's gasp. "He doesn't do our rooms."

"Who does?" Rosette asked, feeling very puzzled. "And we have to do what? Why doesn't he do the what-was-it- shop himself? Aren't servants supposed to do that sort of thing?" Satella came over and knocked Rosette on the head.

"Whoo boy guys. We've got a spoiled one here. Look. Here's the way it is. Chrono is not a servant. He owns this place and let's people like us, who're in the Real Life project stay here. He isn't a butler, although I thought that too at first, when I first came. He's a good cook, but he can come up with some crazy ideas for dishes. Not that I mind. It's all good."

"Hey Chrono!" Fi perked up.

"Joshua's back." she darted out of the room as Satella rolled her eyes.

"Come on newwy. You may as well wait to finish unpacking. We'll help ya after supper." Before she could say anything, Rosette found herself whisked out of her room and down stairs in the front hall. She nearly fell when Satella let go of her arm, but a hand steadied her.

"Easy. You're Rosette, right?" Rosette turned and looked up into a pair of sparkling blue eyes. Her face flushed as she stepped back and tried not to gape at the tall, blonde haired guy who'd caught her. Maybe Newfoundland wasn't such a dump after all.


	2. Sasafrass

A/N: Hi guys, me again. I'm trying to update as quickly as possible, but I work five days a week, and am going on a short trip this Saturday, so updating will be delayed. Sorry. (And why am I working so much this summer? That sucks. Sassafras.) Anyway, here's chapter two. This chapter is kinda odd in that I made it up after I made chapter three, so it's kinda weird. sorry.

**Disclaimer:** Look, you know I don't own it. (Sob) Must you rub it in?

Chapter 2: Sassafras

_By the time you turn seventeen, you must..._

"You're Rosette, right? Rosette Christov?" the guy smiled and shook her hand, a tingle going up it. Holy shi he was soooo... "Joshua McKay. Hey Chro." he turned and looked at the violet haired freak in the doorway, giving Rosette a chance to stare at his elegant build from behind. "You never said the new border was this pretty." Chrono raised an eyebrow, looking amused.

"You know I don't know what they look like before they come, Joshua." he called over his shoulder as he went back into a room which, by the sound of it was the kitchen. Azmaria sighed, breathing deep.

"Can you smell them?" she said, her voice oddly floating. Rosette sniffed and wrinkled he nose, trying to hide the fact that the smells drifting from the kitchen were making her mouth water. Joshua snapped his fingers, hanging his coat on the hooks by the front door.

"Right. Chrono! I forgot..." he yelled, going into the kitchen. Rosette sighed herself, leaning on the wall.

"Wow." she breathed. Was that guy for real, or had she fallen asleep on the plane and not woken up? While she could do without the house and its stupid owner, Joshua McKay... Satella grinned.

"Ol' Joshyboy's done it again. You've got a rival now, Fi." she crowed, giving the quiet girl a poke. "We'll have to see who snags him first!" Rosette forced herself to laugh. Yes.

"That's all wishful thinking." Fi said softly. "Mikay (Fi's name for him. Hmm. Said Me-kay) already has a girlfriend." Az nodded.

"He told me she was really pretty." the girl chirped, pushing her light purple hair-was that some kind of style here?- out of her face. "And if Joshua thinks she's pretty, she must be something." Before Rosette had time to process this information, Joshua came out of the kitchen.

"Chro says supper's ready. He'll do the dishes when he comes back up." they filed into the kitchen to the scarred wooden table. Rosette frowned. The dishes were miss-matched, there was no table cloth- but suddenly it didn't matter, as she caught sight of the pile of steaming dishes on the table. "He really out did himself tonight." Joshua grinned. "Probably trying to impress our new guest." Laughing, the others seated themselves, while Rosette tried to figure out where to sit. Joshua patted the wooden chair next to him. "Hurry up or we'll eat without you." Blushing, Rosette squeezed between the other chairs to sit next to him, looking around at the table. For some reason, she was surprised.

It wasn't that she hadn't seen large meals before, in fact, this would be considered small at her home. It was simply that the food here seemed out of place in the small, warm yellow kitchen with its window overlooking a small fenced in yard. Rosette shook her head. It was time to concentrate on the most important thing in the room- besides Joshua- food. Faster than the others could see, she loaded her plate with food, fish, the perogies things Azmaria had talked about, chicken-yum-, and salad. Everyone stared, slack-jawed as she cleared one plate, then a second.

"So whersh Chrono in awl owf dis?" she asked around her third helping of some things Joshua had called Baking powder biscuits. Satella shrugged.

"He always eats in his apartment downstairs. Just one of his many quirks." Rosette rolled her eyes.

"'One of'? Please say he doesn't have others. He's weird enough as he is." she groaned. How had he ended up a landlord, anyway? Wasn't he too young for that? "How'd he end up running this place anyway? Isn't he to young to be on his own?" Satella dabbed a napkin to her lips, looking around the table.

"How old are you? Sixteen?" Rosette nodded. "Well, so's Chrono. I don't know why he started this place, but I haven't seen any signs of parents or anyone around. He's not around all the time himself. He might live here fulltime, but he's hardly ever here during the day. Personally," Satella said, her grin reappearing. "I don't think he's _here,_" she pointed to her head. "all the time." Az blanched.

"Satella! You can't mean that! Chrono's so nice! Anyway, he gets really good marks in school, although, I over heard Mr. Remington asking if he needed help once." she looked at Rosette. "Mr. Remington is one of our teachers, but he lives next door in number 8. He teaches math."

"Az," Satella groaned. "You have got to be the only person in the world who says a person is sane for having a 95 average. I mean who actually works that hard in school?" Joshua laughed, chewing on a carrot.

"Chrono doesn't work that hard on it, Satella. You ever see him doing homework? Maybe once or twice here. Naw, I can't figure out how he does it. Hey Fi. Can you pass the rolls?" As the other girl moved to pick up the plate, Rosette caught sight of a movement outside in the yard. A young girl, maybe about three, was running around, appearing to laugh, while an older one chased her. Splat. Rosette winched as the younger one fell flat on her face.

"Rosette?" she dragged herself back to the conversation.

'"Hunh? Did you ask me something?" she said, her face red. Joshua nodded.

"I asked if you were tired from your travelling." he stood, picking up his plate and taking Fi's and Satella's. "You must've started out really early to make it here." the others were clearing the table. Satella scowled, handing her a cloth.

"Help will you? Sheesh. You are impossible." Once the table was clean, Rosette retreated to her room, sighing as she spotted her unpacked bag. Oh for her own room in Toronto, where here maid would've had this done in moments. The other girls had stayed down in the living room, chatting with Joshua and Viede, who'd just returned from work as they finished the cleaning. That irritating Satella had chewed him out over that. Honestly. What was that girl's problem?" Fuming, Rosette put away the rest of her clothes and stomped into the bathroom for a shower. She'd barely had twenty minutes in when someone banged on the door.

"Rosette! Look you! You can't spend all day in there, so hurry up, we got a line up out here!" Sighing, Rosette dragged herself from the stall and dressed. These people were so impatient!

"I'm out, I'm out." She stalked past them and down to the kitchen. She was hungry again. Unfortunately, Chrono was also in the kitchen, stupid idiot. He was standing, up to his elbows in soap, washing the dishes from supper.

"Hello Rosette." he said before she had even entered the room. "Leftovers are on the counter to your left." Barely looking at her, he took some drying dishes from a rack and started putting them on cupboard shelves as she sat down to eat. Yum! The food didn't lose its flavour with heat!

"How'd you know I was hungry?" she asked, although what she really said was: "Hwrdyoofnrziwzhngriy?" Lucky, Chrono was very adapt at understanding garbled speech, (this was actually from working at a bar, and other reasons, but more on them later.-A), and so was able to understand what she said.

"Lucky guess." he said, smiling. Rosette almost choked. "Are you alright?" He came over to the table, brushing bubbles off his hands. "Here." he handed her a glass of water, which she gulped down.

"Thanks." she gasped. He took the glass and turned, yelping as he slipped on some of the soap from the sink and went down hard. The glass flew up in the air, then, as things do, came down, shattering on the floor.

"Sassafras!" Chrono spat, sending Rosette into gales of laughter while he sat up. "Sassafras and pepper corns." He pulled himself to his feet via the counter and tried to straiten his back. "Oh well." Still using the counter for support, he limped to a closet and pulled out a broom. "Are you alright?" he asked Rosette, who by now had fallen onto the floor with her laughter. She rolled around, clutching her stomach.

"You said s-sassafras." she giggled, sitting up and wiping a tear from her eye. For some reason, she'd found his 'curse' funny. "Sassafras! Ha-Haaa!"

"Right." he said, sounding like he was trying to decide whether to be amused or affronted. He decided on the former as he swept up the broken glass. It's wasn't very often he got someone to laugh. Rosette stood, still laughing. Then she sobered.

"When I was little, I used to know a boy who said that." she said quietly. "I met him at my father's lab, only once or twice. I was upset, because my dog-- had chewed up my favourite doll. He was getting tested for something, I don't remember what, but he cheered me up." Chrono dumped the glass into the garbage, remaining silent as Rosette thought about that meeting. She shrugged after a moment. "I don't know what happened with the tests. Dad never talked about it. He just tested people for something of other. Night." She turned and hurried back up stairs. Chrono leaned on the counter, biting his lip as his back touched it, watching the girl scurry up the stairs. She'd been lying. Even with his glasses on he could tell that. Of course, sometimes, he didn't need his 'power' to tell him something wasn't true. Sometimes, you already knew the truth.

Rosette pressed her face into the pillow. Remembering "Sassafras", (that being what she named the boy she met who said it) was not something she wanted to do, yet she had. He'd been a very nice boy, never cursed in the time she knew him. She would've. For some reason, she knew he hadn't liked the tests they'd run on him in the lab. What they were testing for however, was something that she really didn't know. She didn't. Shivering, she pulled the blanket up over herself. Why was she so cold? She didn't really need to ask. She always got cold when she thought of Sassafras. Hearing someone saying it after all these years shouldn't have mad her laugh, but it did, just like when she'd heard it for the first time ten years before...

A/N TBC (smiles)


	3. Shades of Truth

A/n: Hey guys. What's up? Hate to say it, but I'm not going to be able to update until Wednesday (at least) and I'm working that day. Sigh. I am trying. All right, here we go, chapter three. Yay!

**Disclaimer:** look, you know the deal, so let me get on with the story!

**New Time, New Place, chapter 3: Shade's of Truth.**

"_They are under a curse." said one angel._

_"No. They are running with blessings and fate." said another._

_"They are in love." said the third, sighing with dreams. "And that is the greatest blessing and curse of all."_

The Council of Peace, on the judging of two souls.

"_Hi. Why're you here_?" Rosette groaned and rolled over. She really didn't need this, not now. "_You're sad. Your dog just died. My sister is dead too."_ Rosette opened her eyes, but she knew she wasn't awake. She knew, because she was watching an encounter she'd had ten years ago. Little Rosette, the one from years ago, blanched, staring at the strange child she'd found in her father's lab.

"_How did you know?"_ she cried, trying to convince herself to run away. She hadn't been able too, because something about the boy had seemed so familiar. The boy, seated on a hospital style bed, smiled.

"_That's what they're trying to find out, my father and the mean doctor."_ Rosette had gotten angry at that.

"_What do you mean, mean? The doctor is my papa! He's not mean!"_ The boy's eyes, one red, one gold, looked sad.

_"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. I don't know. I know he is very kind to you."_ his gold eye clouded, something that Rosette still remembered, because the sight of that eye had always mad a little pang in her heart. The boy smiled. "_He gave you your puppy, the one who was just freed." _the gold eye narrowed, as if looking at something far away. "_He'll get you another dog, a small one."_ Little Rosette gasped in surprise.

"_Can you tell the future? Daddy says there might be people who can! Can you? Can you?"_ She'd gotten very excited at the possibility that her new companion might be able to see what was coming. Now-Rosette winched. It wasn't until later that she'd learned what Sasafrass went through because of his powers, and she wasn't sure she knew the whole of it. She didn't want to think about this! Clenching her fists, she tried to force herself to wake up. The vision disappeared, but the voices still echoed in her head.

_"Is that what they call it now? I don't know. Some people say it's the future, but I think that they're only possibilities. No one can know for sure. Not until it's all over, and even then, everybody's version of the story will be different, Rosette. No one sees things exactly the same way."_ Now-Rosette shivered. Those words had floated in her head ever since.

"Stop it." she hissed. "The boy's young face etched itself on the black of her eye lids.

"_Some of us are given different eyes. I don't know why."_ his face had gotten a pained look then, as if he had a bad headache. _"Some of us can't fly. Our wings are broken."_

_"Rosette! What are you doing here?"_ Her father had arrived then, with a strange, white haired man who glared at Sassafras like he was ridden with a fatal, contagious disease. The man had scared her. As usual, when she reached this point, she woke up.

"Damn." she grumbled, sitting up. Somewhere, a child was crying. Rosette rolled over to go back to sleep, when the question of why the heck a child was crying here, forced sleep out of her head. Swearing a blue moon, Rosette hauled herself from the warm bed and stumbled downstairs to the kitchen, where the sound was coming from. Quietly, she peeked in, not wanting to be caught snooping. (Why it mattered, she had no idea) A woman stood by the window, rubbing her eyes blearily.

"I really don't know how you manage Chro." she grumbled. "I mean working at this time of night is one thing, and don't get me wrong, you're very good with the late crowd. But managing kids too... I'd say you were insane if I didn't think these kids were so adorable!" She squeezed the little girl she was carrying, a grin on her red-cheeked face beneath her huge glasses. (Guess who?) Chrono came into view, his back to Rosette.

"I don't have much choice Shader. That's why I'm so grateful for all the help you've given me." He took the girl, who'd now fallen asleep from Shader before she was strangled. "And the job. Thanks for looking after them for me. I'll be up in a minute, after I get this pup back in bed. And tell Rosette she can come out. I'm not going to bite." Rosette went pink as Chrono went down into his apartment-which it now seemed he was sharing- and Shader came to the kitchen door.

"I feel like a wife!" she said cheerfully.

"You are a wife!" Chrono's voice answered from below. Rosette felt dizzy. Now her landlord was 16, married, had kids...it was too much to take.

"You're Rosette!" She blinked as she was yanked into a hug. "My gosh! You've gotten so cute since the last time I saw you! But then, you were only a child then. You're how old now? Sixteen? Yes, that's right! You and Chrono are the same age! So! You don't remember me, do you? I used to work for your father!" Rosette sat down, feeling like her head was spinning. "Chrono! You never said she was _that_ Rosette Christov! Or did you know. No, don't say you didn't. What are- oh dear. Did you have any-"

"Shader!" Chrono laughed, setting a tray on the counter. "You know I didn't. Anyway, thanks for coming." Shader nodded, taking the check from Chrono and attempting to ruffle his tightly braided hair.

"See ya!" she sang, bouncing out of the room. "See you Rosette!" then she was gone. Chrono sighed and went to the cupboard.

"Hot chocolate?" he asked to the stupefied girl at the table. She nodded mouth agape. "Shader can do that to you when you first meet her. Cheerful insanity. Very intelligent, very good at solving problems, but likes her beer and wine wa-ay too much." Rosette managed to take a sip of hot chocolate, before blurting out the first thing that came to her head.

"How long have you been married? Since your baby?" For some reason, the former had been as stunning as the kid thing. Chrono sighed, resting his chin on his hand.

"I'm not married." he smiled at that. "Ha. Me. Married? Right. I don't even have time to date, if I even had the guts to ask someone out." Rosette gulped down the rest of her hot chocolate. It really was good, she decided, much better than the stuff from a machine. "No, I decided years ago that I'd stay away from that sort of thing." And he wasn't married. Wow. This night might be crazy, but some things seemed more normal now.

"But you have-" She started. Chrono closed his eyes, losing his cheerful demur.

"Nina, Marie and Kino." he said softly. "My nieces and nephews." Rosette remembered the children she had seen playing outside at dinner.

"You eat dinner with them, right?" he nodded. "Nina's afraid of crowds, and Satella scares her. The others won't leave her alone, so we eat downstairs." Rosette grinned.

"Satella just is scary." he smiled back, rubbing absently at a scar on his palm.

"Yes, I'd have to agree with you there. Very scary." he stood, yawning. "Anyway, I have to get some work done." he glanced at the clock and sighed. "Scratch that. You should go back up to be-" Rosette was already snoring at the table. Chuckling, Chrono took the blanket from the living room couch and wrapped it around the sleeping girl before carrying her upstairs to her room. He leaned against the door as he left, closing his eyes. His head was pounding from too little sleep. He shook himself. He didn't have time to fuzz out like this. There was still much to do before school tomorrow. Or today, seeing as it was two in the morning. Sassafras. Was it to much to ask to have a half nights sleep? He worked until 1:00 at a bar a few streets down and it had been hectic- three fights and it wasn't even a big holiday. Still, talking with Rosette had been fun. It was a pity Shader had brought up the labs. Christov Labs was somewhere he never, ever wanted to think of. So why had he agreed to let Rosette come? There were other homes around their school that were with the Project, yet he had agreed to take her, and, despite what he'd told Shader, he knew who Rosette was. How couldn't he? Chrono lay a finger over his left eye, the gold one. _"Curse and blessing, that which is, that it isn't. Useless indispensable blind sight."_ A good bit of help that'd been. Chrono padded downstairs, and sat at the kitchen table, trying to decipher the work Ms. Anderson had given for English. There simply were not enough hours in a day. There never were.

A/N: What do you think? And no, they really aren't Chrono's kids. Did you think I'd put him with someone other than Rosette? Are you insane? (The word of the day. I'm babysitting). I don't know when the kid's real father shows up, but it should be soon. Well, that's it for this chapter, and poor Chrono has another level of craziness to contend with. How will Rosette handle it once she's awake enough for it to sink in? In chapter four: (finally) Dumdada! (Fanfare) The first day of school! Yay! See ya soon!


	4. Schools,fools and Language Arts

A/N: Hello. Sneko here. What's up? I don't know when this will be put on the site, 'cuz I'm going on vacation for a few days. (Four) And I'm trying to get this up before I go, but I might not finish it in time. So here's hoping I do! O ya: Language Arts is basically, what we call English class at my school, so that's what I call it in this.

Disclaimer: You know the drill...

Chapter 4: Schools, Fools and Language Arts.

_He's close. So close._ The voice sighed. _Why can't I find him? Surely he hasn't forgotten me- he damn well better not've!_

Rosette groaned. That voice again. She was sure she'd heard it before, somewhere besides in her mind on waking. She'd heard it for the past couple of days on her trip from Mikolin, getting louder and more worried by the day. Stupid voice.

"Rosette?" someone was banging on her door. "Rosette, you're going to be late!" Rosette groaned, placing the voice. Satella. "If you don't get up on the count of three, I'm going to do something drastic! One, two, three." for a blissful moment, there was silence on the other side of the door, and Rosette rolled over to go back to sleep. "Ok!" the demon woman yelled. "You asked for it!" There was the sound of quick footsteps, then Satella yelled something to someone downstairs, but Rosette didn't hear, because she was already asleep again, dreaming about dancing with Joshua. At least, she thought it was Joshua. As she danced, her head resting on his shoulder, she became aware of someting brushing her face. It was soft and tickled, slightly damp and smelling of soap. She reached up, playing with the strand of violet hair. Violet? Oh god! Letting out a screech, Rosette jerked awake and sat up, knocking Chrono across the room.

"PERVERT! What are you doing in here?" She screamed, towering over her landlord. He scowled at her, looking harried.

"Satella told me she couldn't get you up. You're going to be late. We all are, because we have to wait for you today, so hurry up." he looked to the door, as if hearing something, then paused by the door. "We're leaving in ten minutes; your breakfast and lunch are on the table. For today only." Rosette looked up from scrambling to find her books in surprise. He sighed. "Look, I can't do it everyday. Today just happens to be one that I've got time to do it. I've gotta go. The others will walk you to school and show you around. I have to leave now." he disappeared down the hall, shutting her door behind him.

"Stupid. I couldn't care less about- wait. Did he say breakfast?" Rosette raced to the kitchen straitening her shirt, skidding to a seat at the table.

True to his word, Chrono had left both breakfast and a bagged lunch on it for her. Rosette scarfed down the toast and got to the door just as Satella was about to call for her.

"And Sleeping Beauty arrives. Let's go!" as they walked, Rosette looked at the group around her. What an odd batch they were, Az, in her cute little pink dress, Satella in her body hugging black skirt and top, Fi wearing (for some odd reason) a dress like something a maid would wear, Joshua in his jeans and tee and Viede in his heavy leather. Rosette tugged at her hair. She'd simply worn hip hugging baggy jeans and a tight pink top. Was that okay?

"Where's Chrono?" she asked, seeing as there was no sign of him anywhere. Satella shrugged.

"He never walks with us. Actually, we hardly ever all walk together like this. We aren't all in the same grade, and normally, we don't hang out together. Still. You can eat with us at lunchtime. We all have the same slot on our schedule, even Chrono."

"Does he eat with you then?" Rosette wondered, surprised at her curiosity. "It's nothing personal. He just doesn't seem to…" Satella raised an eyebrow. Rosette had a feeling the woman had picked it up from Chrono.

"'Nothing personal' huh. Well don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with Chrono, per say." she paused as they mounted the steps to Magdalene High. (Yeah, yeah, well used, I know. Have to have some reference to the Order) "but he's not exactly... oh shit! I'm late!" without finishing, Satella tore down the hall, followed by Viede, who seemed to have the same class. Joshua grabbed Azmaria's hand and waved a cheerful good-bye."

"Wait!" Rosette yelled. "Where do I go?"

"You have Language Arts in room 203, after homeroom." Rosette turned to find Chrono waiting by some lockers. "We're going to be late, but Mr. Remington will understand. It's Ms. Valentine you have to work about. She teaches science." He led her up some stairs- why was everything upstairs? And hadn't they heard of elevators? - to a classroom. Chrono glanced at his watch then grabbed her hand. "Come on. We can make it on time." they darted into the classroom as the bell rang. Chrono took a seat, but Rosette had no idea where to go as a tall man walked into the classroom. She felt herself gasp looking at him, than around the room. The house might be lousy, and so was the school, but the guy population seemed to be thriving. With the exception of her nerdy Landlord, there seemed to be many jocks. Although, she decided, Mr. Remington didn't seem to bad himself. He smiled calmly then spread his arms, addressing his class. Some girls eyed her tartly.

"Good morning! Today we have a new student, Rosette Christov from Mikolin. I'd like you all to welcome her into our school, is that clear?" At the chorus of yes's, he turned to Rosette. "There's an empty seat behind Mr. D'Crusa, Rosette, if you would sit down." Rosette looked around at her new class. D' Crusa? How was she...oh. There was only one seat left. Of course, that one seat had to be...

Right behind Mr. Annoying himself. Or, as it would seem his name really was: Chrono D'Crusa. She hid a grin as she sat down. What a name. Some of the girls stated to whisper as she did, darting calculating glances at her. Rosette frowned at them. What was their problem anyway? Remington tapped his register on his desk as class bell rang.

"Well then. Of you go, and I'll see you at homeroom after lunch. Do not," he glared at a pair of bored looking boys. "Be late."

"Mr. Remington sure is handsome." she sighed, following the crowd down the hall.

"I can't really say anything to that," Chrono shrugged, "but you're going the wrong way." Rosette turned around. What was with him today? The surrounding hall was nearly empty. "Come on." Rosette followed him reluctantly.

"Why're you sticking so close to me? I hope you don't intend to do so all the time. Some of us actually want to talk with people." she snapped. Chrono glanced at her, his eyes hardening slightly. Setting his mouth, he strode ahead of her, shoving his long braid over his shoulder.

"Seeing as we have the same schedule, I thought I'd try and help you find your classes so you wouldn't get in trouble on your first day here." he scowled at her over his shoulder. "If you don't want me around, that's no problem. After today, you can handle yourself. It's simply required that I show you around. Mr. Remington requested it." he said nothing more and turned into classroom 203, taking the same seat as he had in homeroom. Once again, Rosette took the empty seat behind him, trying to meet the eyes of anyone else in the room. No one looked at her.

"The Hell is people's problem here?" Rosette growled at lunch, Az and Fi ducking as she waved her fork in the air. As usual, she was talking with her mouthful, but they had begun to understand foodish. "You can't talk to people; they won't even look at me. Sheesh." She muttered, shoving a spoonful of soup in her mouth. Seeing the food served in the cafeteria, she was suddenly glad of the lunch Chrono had mad for her.

"Did you find your classes ok?" Az asked worriedly. "I'm a grade below you; otherwise I would've shown you."

"That's fine. Mr. Annoying made sure I made it, but it would be nice to see the rest of the school." she smiled. Azmaria grinned and hauled her up.

"Great. Who's Mr. Annoying?" Azmaria asked as they stopped by the library.

"Mr. Annoying? Who else? Chrono of course." the pale haired girl flinched.

"Oh." her eyes widened as she spotted someone. Rosette turned around. Sitting at the table behind them, nearly hidden behind a stack of books, was (duh) Chrono. He turned the page of a book and scribbled something down, his brow wrinkled in concentration. If he noticed them, he showed no sign. Azmaria tugged on Rosette's arm and they moved to leave, Rosette casting a quick look over her shoulder, squinting at the books Chrono was reading. If she wasn't mistaken... it was their homework for that night. Stupid. Who actually did they're homework during lunch? Chrono did, apparently. Az let out a squeak as she banged into a girl as they left the library.

"Watch it!" snapped the girl, brushing of her clothes. "Stupid kid." She narrowed her eyes at Rosette. "You. You're that new girl, Rosette, aren't you?" Rosette crossed her arms.

"Yeah. What of it?"

"My name's Claire O'Conner." she held out a hand and Rosette shook it. Rosette pulled away as quickly as politely possible and resisted the urge to whip her hand on her jeans. Claire snorted. "Did I see you talking with Creepy Crusa?" Rosette felt Azmaria bristle beside her. "You should watch out for him. He has a tendency to go all...weird. And his likings aren't all that straight, if you know what I mean." the girl turned. "See ya."

"Rrrrrg!" Az growled. "I really dislike her. She's so mean! And what's she got against Chrono?"

"It's not just her." Satella said as she and the others joined them. "Most people dislike the fluff ball. He's too... different. It's always been like that, since before any of us came along."

"I don't think he minds." Viede said, the deepness of his voice surprising Rosette. "Personally, I think he supports the rumours subtly, just to get people to get off his back. He avoids any personal relation ships at all costs. Most of the hash that goes around about him is all bull. Hey Fi, you've been here the longest. You got any ideas?" The girl shook her head, her dull eyes blank.

"Chrono is different. He knows that and is used to it. He's shy." Rosette laughed at that.

"Shy? He didn't have any problem yelling at me to get up, though I have to agree. Chrono is really weird though."

"And we're all about to be very late if we don't hurry. Second bell's already rung." they all turned in panic, for standing behind them, smiling faintly was Chrono, his usual amused/sceptical on his face. "Well? What are you waiting for?" Laughing, they others raced off to class, all flushing sheepishly at being caught gossiping. "Rosette?" He was waiting by the library door.

"Coming..." She said absently from the table where Chrono'd been sitting. Quickly looking from the picture to her Landlord, she stuffed the tattered image of a smiling couple into her pocket and darted after him to class.

A/N: Well, there it is. I'm half-asleep, so forgive me, I really am trying. And about Claire's comment: she was implying that Chrono was gay, if you didn't figure that out. He's not, but he has a _reason_ for avoiding romance...a reason about to be discovered in chapter 5! Bwahaha!


	5. Mary

A/N: Hello people, sorry this took so long. I just got back from vacation yesterday and had work the next morning, so I couldn't do anything. Anyway, here it is, Chapter five of New Time, New Place. I hope you like it. There's some important things appearing in this chapter, and it explains a lot about Chrono. And please don't be mad at me because of all this stuff.

Disclaimer: Do we really have to do this every time? I don't own Chrono Crusade.

Chapter 5: Mary and Chrono

Rosette skidded into the classroom just as the bell rang, stumbling to her seat. They had, according to Chrono, math last period, meaning they had Mr. Remington. Rosette chewed on her pencil as the class started, studying the picture on her desk. So. This was interesting. The picture was well worn, tattered around the edges as if it had been handled frequently. It was of two people, one of whom was Chrono. At least, she thought it was Chrono. The one in the picture was smiling happily, goofing off with a young girl of the same age, probably fourteen. They were in a backyard, standing against a porch, arms around each other, looking very content. Rosette glanced at Chrono's back. No. The Chrono in the picture seemed much younger, much more care free. Odd. There was a tap on her shoulder.

"Miss Rosette. I'm afraid I must ask you to stay behind today, seeing as you seem to be having trouble concentrating." Mr. Remington said sternly. "You may be new, but you must try and keep up." he walked up to the board and started writing page numbers on it, much to the groans of all the students.

"Tough break." Rosette turned to the boy behind her. He was tall and lanky with red hair and a confident grin. "Roy Farsy. Rosette right?" She nodded, catching a burning look from Claire. Well then. Rosette smiled back sweetly.

"Yes I am. Roy. Is that a common name around here?" she asked, widening her eyes. She didn't intend to stay here longer then she had to, but why not have some fun while she was?

"Just wait a moment Rosette; I'll be with you in a second." Mr. Remington said, tapping his papers on his desk as the last students went out. Rosette leaned back in her desk, watching him. He really was very handsome for a teacher. "So." he reclined in his chair and put his feet on the desk. "How're you finding it here in St. John's? Much different from what you're used to, I'm sure. Still, you seem to be getting on fine. Do you like your quarters?"

"You mean where I'm staying? Its ok, I guess. Nothing to get excited about." she scowled. "People are really weird here. Can I go now?" Mr. Remington shook his head.

"'fraid not. As you may or may not've heard, I live next door to you." he smiled weakly. "Hence the reason you don't get calls for loud parties- or you wouldn't if Chrono allowed them."

"He's a sulk. He doesn't do anything fun." Rosette shrugged. Well, that was what she'd heard.

"He has his reasons." Remington shifted a paperweight, suddenly looking very tired. "Too many. I noticed you looking at a picture in class. I'm guessing you didn't ask to see it." Rosette blushed. "I thought not. May I...?" Rosette handed the picture to him and the man sighed. "Mary Magdalene. A very interesting girl...

Ewan Remington looked at the pale girl before him, forcing his lips into a smile.

"Mary, I assume. Pleased to meet you. I'm Ewan Remington, and you'll be staying with me for the next while." The girl just watched him silently for a moment, her eyes chillingly hollow. He'd seen eyes like that before, eyes that seemed to be pools of sorrow quietly smothered. WWho made them like that, these children who should be full of joy, he didn't know, and he really didn't want to- it would do him no good to anger the law.

"Pleased to meet you sir." Mary said softly, curtsying. Ewan frowned.

"Come, come." he said, taking her arm and leading her from the sidewalk. "There's no need for that." They walked past the low wall that separated his home, #8, from his next-door neighbours.

"Who is that?" Mary asked suddenly, pointing over the wall. He looked, only to see the next-door people's son, Chrono. The boy was seated on the fence, watching them.

"Hello Mary." Ewan caught his jaw before it hit the ground. He had seen the boy for years, taught him for two weeks, and never heard him utter a word. To his surprise, Mary broke into a smile.

"You're Chrono!" she ran over to the fence and they started chatting as if they'd known each other for years and hadn't had the chance to talk. That was the first time he'd ever seen Chrono smile. It soon became clear that if Mary was around, Chrono would smile, and if Chrono was near, Mary would smile. Since they lived next-door to each other and were in all the same classes, they were always happy. Both teens lost the hollowness in their eyes and began to flourish. He'd felt proud, even though he had nothing to do with it. For them it came naturally. The year flew by and the duo entered eighth grade. It became clear that, whether they knew it or not, their friendship had become much more. Then things became more difficult.

Ewan had known that both Chrono and Mary had something different about them. Mary had an odd sense of knowing, and Chrono had his own story of the same sort. What he hadn't realized was the disgust that Chrono met with from his family, until he heard yelling over the fence.

It was the first time he'd seen any sign of parents at the house, and there was someone else there, a tall man with white-silver hair in a ponytail. That was when the trouble started. Chrono became caretaker of three children and had to start working to cover costs. He and Mary had less and less time to spend together. At the same time, whatever their difference was became stronger, and both teens began to have more and more visions, ones that could take them at any time. The other students, even the friends they'd managed to gather, began to back off, afraid. The teachers, who'd been warned that such a thing might happen, were torn between keeping the two children, because they were two of their brightest and most willing, or sending them home as they could be distracting, or could hurt others. They decided to keep them in, but parents began to give the school a hard time once word got out, saying the pair were mentally challenged and shouldn't be in the classroom. Chrono and Mary hadn't been kicked out, but it wasn't an easy start to the school year. Mary grew quieter and more withdrawn than ever. He'd been worried, but there wasn't much he could do, then there was nothing anyone could do.

"Thanks for picking me up, Mr. Remington." Fifteen-year-old Chrono said wearily, climbing into the car and slumping into the seat. It was late, around twelve, and he'd just left the buzzing hell of the bar to head home. Ewan smiled.

"That's not a problem." He said, hiding a yawn. It wasn't often the boy called for a ride home, but it was raining tonight. Squinting to see through the fog, he drove carefully down the slippery hill, trying to see.

"Stop!" Chrono cried suddenly. Ewan did so, just as a truck hurtled by, nearly hitting them. A shiver ran down his back. He hadn't seen that truck, and probably wouldn't've until it was on top of them, and then he would've been dead, and being dead makes it hard to notice things.

"Good call." he said, turning to Chrono and gasping in surprise. The boy's eyes were shut tight and his face was pale, beads of sweat running down his forehead.

"N-Something's wrong!" Chrono opened his eyes, the red and gold orbs flashing in the headlights of a passing car. "Hurry. Go to the route twenty signpost. I don't know why- just do it!" Not stopping to question the boy, Ewan turned the car and shot down the misty road, concern building as Chrono's face grew paler and paler beneath his fingers which had come up to cover it.

There it was. Ewan stopped the car, but even before he had, Chrono was out and stumbling down the embankment.

"Chrono wai-!" He froze halfway down the hill, eyes barely registering what he saw. Chrono was bent over the still body of a young woman, tears streaming over his face. He did not bother to wipe them away, shaking gently at Mary's shoulders.

"Mary! Mary come on! Please no!" Ewan knelt next to the pair, ice in his chest. "She's-" Chrono let out a small cry, like a dieing animal. "She's dead." Ewan caught the boy's trembling wrist.

"Go back to the car, sit in there and try to keep warm. Call an ambulance. I know." he added to Chrono's look. "It won't help her, but we need to know what happened." the shocked teen had done as he'd said, and the ambulance arrived in short order.

The next moments were full of paramedics getting Mary into the back and asking what had happened. Ewan actually forgot about Chrono until the ambulance was about to leave, then they insisted on bringing him in too. Ewan followed behind in the car until they reached to hospital. CChrono was put in a room to calm down- a stupid idea, Ewan though, seeing as the youth was perfectly silent as it was, needing someone to comfort him, but he couldn't say anything because he had to talk to the doctor about Mary.

"Do you have any idea about this sir?" asked the pale-skinned man as Ewan entered the room. "This was pinned to the girl's dress." He grimaced as the teacher/caregiver took the note hesitantly. The doctor scrubbed at his spotless glasses. "I know it's hard to understand and accept," he continued. "but I'm afraid-"

"She killed herself." Ewan finished, eyes scanning the note, his heart sinking lower with every line. It was in Mary's writing and style, everything about it. It wasn't addressed to him, it was addressed to Chrono. "I'll show... this to Chrono." He stumbled from the room, knocking on the door of the room Chrono was in. It opened easily, so he went in.

"Chrono?" he sat on the bed as the teen looked up. Ewan swallowed and handed him the note. Chrono took it, hands white knuckled, shaking.

_Chrono._

_I really am sorry, but I just can't bear it. With everyone hating us for our powers, we're all alone, and you work so much, you never have time for me. I don't know why my visions got so bad recently, but they have. I can't take what is to come. You know what I mean, I would say. Good luck, I'll love you always, Mary._

Chrono stilled, and from the movement of his eyes, he seemed to be reading it over. Then his teeth clenched and he put his head on his knees. "So." he raised his head. "There it is." The boy rose and went to the door. "I... I have to call Shader, tell her where I am. I don't want her to worry." His voice was flat, painful to hear and his fingers were knotted tightly. "I need to get home... I'll be fine." He left the room, his steps unsteady, and as he was leaving the hospital, something else was left behind.

"She killed herself?" Rosette sputtered, startling Mr. Remington and causing him to trip. They'd ended up walking back towards Bradford Street during his story. "And she actually said that?" He nodded. The blond girl crossed her arms, something unreadable on her face.

"Aw please...!" they looked up. Across the street, a young man came out of a store, three children clamouring at is waist.

"Come now," he said gently, bending to the whining one and tossing his long violet braid back. "You..."

"He doesn't complain. He never mentioned her again, but I think she still haunts him. He never truly got over her death." Mr. Remington said quietly as the small group turned into a grocery store. "He simply pushed on in life. He had no chance to really heal. Having a family to look after gave him a reason to go on but..."

"She blamed him." Rosette said suddenly, realizing what was nagging her. "Mary blamed all her problems on him. And that idiot accepted it. See you sir. I have to go!" Rosette waved absently over her shoulder and set off down the street, her head adrift in strange thoughts she didn't understand.

A/N: Well, now you know. That's all for now, sorry it took so long.


	6. Music in the Wings

A/N: Hello, welcome back to New Time, New Place. Pleased to have you along. Whoa boy, that sounded weird. Sorry about the last chapter if it startled anybody. You might've guessed that Mary is not one of my um... favourite characters, although that's not really true- you'll have to read Letters From Hell to realize I'm not being picky. There should be a preview in of it soon in New Time, New Place. I don't know when. Again, I don't know when this will be put up, because I work some days a week, but I will put up new chapters as often as I can. Anyway, enough chitchat Sneko, it's time for Chapter six! And Pleaseeee review! My thanks to those who did--I love you, you rock! If I haven't responded, I will, so hang on and keep reading! Oh; when I get to writingLetters From Hell, please read it!

Chapter 6: Music in the Wings

How had she fallen so far? Rosette wondered as she scrubbed at the mountain of dirty dishes. She, Rosette Christov was washing dishes while her 'friends'/ fellow boarders were out having a walk in the nice, sunny evening.

"Uncle Chrono---!" Well, most of them. Rosette leaned out the window in time to see Chrono knocked back into the vegetable patch he was weeding by a very energetic little girl. Nina, he'd said her name was. Rosette shook her head and went back to the dishes. If washing dishes was bad, permanent babysitting and slogging in a muddy garden were hell. What an idiot Chrono was. He really did take on too much. "Will you play it? Oh please say you will! Play Raven's Wings for us!" Nina's voice was soft, but it still carried.

"Rosette!" Rosette let out a small scream as a train hit her. Actually, it was an excited Az followed by Satella, Fi, Joshua (sigh+heart here) and Viede. Az was jumping up and down. "Rosette, did you hear? They're having a music competition at Austy's tonight! We're all going, so get your stuff on!" the pale haired girl hurtled upstairs, most of the others on her heels.

"Where're they running off too?" Shader huffed from the doorway as she took off her shoes. "Hey Rosette!" The woman bounded over and hugged her. "Aw! You get cuter every time I see you! And you're helping out! Oo! Chrono, you lucked out with this one!"

"Yes, well, I don't know if she really wants to spend the rest of the evening washing dishes. The kids are downstairs Shader. They're pretty hyper, I should warn you." Chrono said, entering the kitchen. He'd washed up from the garden, still slightly damp and smelling of soap.

"That would be my cue to leave." Shader said with a sly grin. "Have a good time Rosette." She yelled, skipping downstairs.

"Oh that'll get them calmed down before bed." Chrono muttered, smiling weakly. "Oh well. Move over. I'll wash, you dry." He took the cloth from her and started washing. "Sorry you got stuck with these. It's supposed to be Satella's turn, but she took off with the others. I would've been up sooner, but this really is one of the few times I can spend with the kids outside." He chuckled, shaking wet hair from his eyes.

"You're working tonight, I assume." Rosette said quietly, adding another dish to the dry stack. Chrono shrugged.

"That's true about every night. S'what I do." He frowned at the clock, adjusting his glasses. "Sassafras and Peppercorns!" he yelped. "Not again!" he sped up, washing much faster than she could even try to keep up with. "Sorry!" he called over his shoulder. "I'm going to be late for work! Have a good evening!" he darted to the door.

"Chrono!" Before Rosette could stop herself, she called out. He froze by the door, turning around slowly.

"Yes..?" Rosette swallowed, wringing out the dishcloth, trying to think of what she had wanted to say.

"Just...Just don't push yourself on your plate... not everything is your responsibility, you know." He studied her, an odd look on his face.

"Are you feeling alright?" Before she could speak, he'd strode across the room and placed a cool palm on her forehead. Rosette flushed.

"Of course I am, Stupid!" she pushed away from him and stomped up the stairs. "Have a good day." she added quietly, but she wasn't sure if he heard as the door closed before she had said it. Still, she'd been compelled to say it, just as she had been for what she said firsts, although she hadn't intended to say anything like that. He didn't know she knew about Mary, and she didn't intend to bring it up. Someone banged on her door.

"Rosette?" It was Satella-curse her- "Are you ready to go? We're leaving!"

"Coming! I'm coming already." she yelled, opening the door. May as well get it over with.

Austy's was a downtown bar/club. It was very low key and easy going and was open everyday. They were generally closed to underage people, but they often had open age events and they didn't really care who went in so long as you didn't start a fight and you weren't drinking underage. Due to this looseness, the group had no trouble getting in. Once inside, they all spread out, Satella to flirt over at the bar, Azmaria and Viede to get a spot close to the makeshift stage.

"They host this sort of thing fairly often." Joshua explained. " Actually, the music here is really good. They have theme nights on most Fridays with local bands performing pieces within the theme. It's really cool."

"Do you guys always come down here?"

"Sometimes. It's a nice place, but it can get a little tough sometimes. Oh waiter!" They settled at a table, Joshua, Rosette and Fi. There were people running around like crazy, mostly getting sound equipment set up. Finally, a small man clambered up on stage.

"Hello?" he squeaked into the mike. "Ah yes. Thank you." he said to the teen who was fixing cables. "She's working now." he clapped his hands and the room quieted. "Hello everyone and welcome to Austy's Musical Friday. Tonight we have a great list of singers, all who are competing for the audiences applause. At the end, you can al vote for your favourite, and the winner gets a monetary prize." There was cheering from the crowd. "Anyone who feels inclined to dancing, there's room in front of the stage. And now, without further chatting, let's begin!" The first group, a rock styled band called Tiny Little Pond came up and started their number, quickly followed by Jakly Pals. Rosette lost count of the groups and the songs as group after group paraded onto the stage. She was aware eventually, that Joshua and Fi had gotten up and were dancing, as were Azmaria, Viede and Satella. It was very funny to watch, but she felt no desire to join in. The music was okay, some was her style, some wasn't, but none of them really got her attention. She sipped on the drink that'd been set on the table before her, grateful for the coke's fizz. It probably would do nothing for her growing headache, but hey. When thirsty, drink.

"Excuse me?" She caught the sleeve of a waiter as he darted by. "May I have another Pepsi please?" he nodded curtly than vanished.

"Here you are." The drink was put on the table and she looked up and gasped.

"Wow." The guy, what she could see of him in the dark room, was very cute. And very familiar... light from the door caught on his glasses.

"Something wrong Rosette?" Chrono tipped his head to the side and looked at her.

"Chro- Chrono? What are you doing here?" She sputtered. Chrono raised an eyebrow at her and gestured at his tray.

"I work here." He said over his shoulder as he vanished into the shadows.(Ooh. cleche)

"Thank you, well friends." The little man was up on the stage again. "It has been a wonderful show so far. Before we go on with our next act, I'd like to thank our sound manager, Crusander, who sets up all our shows. We would never be able to do it without him. Get over here Crusa!" he yelled over to the counter. Everyone clapped politely as the lanky teen came up to the stage. The man, who Rosette had been told was Austy, hauled the boy up on stage. Tall and thin, dressed in tight leather pants and a black sleeveless, the boy seemed uncomfortable with the attention, rubbing shyly at a large scar on his upper right arm. Austy clapped his shoulder cheerfully. "Now. Most of our regulars know Crusa as he's been working here for over a year, playing backup. But what few of us know is he's a singer too. I thank my wife for that tip. So, should we ask Mr. Crusander to sing?" the crowed cheered and the boy turned a brilliant red, shaking his head in a desperate, if futile NO! Joshua grinned.

"This should be good." Crusander was pushed up to the mike.

"I -well- I haven't done this sort of thing in ages." he nudged lightly at the stand then turned to the group of musicians. "I've been playing back up for so long, I can't really think of anything. Any one got a suggestion?" he looked around the audience, meeting Rosette's eyes. She felt a chill go through her, feeling suddenly she could name the colour of them though she couldn't see them.

"Raven's Wings." she called out, her voice silencing the crowd. Crusander looked at her, his face pale.

"Raven's Wings?" the crowd gasped. Everyone knew it was a difficult song. Crusander took a deep breath. "I'll need a guitar." Straitening his shoulders, he accepted the instrument from one of the finished groups and gave it an experimental strum. He frowned and tweaked the turning pegs for a moment than tried again. He seemed to like the sound and returned to the mike.

"Raven's Wings it is!" The decision of what song to sing seemed to have calmed him, as had the turning, because he held the guitar easily as he started to play. The chords floated out to the crowd who gulped it up hungrily, sensing something.

"Aiya_, Aieya. Oo oh,_

_Why hello love, where've you been------_

_While you've been gone, you've missed all I've seen._

_I must say, I haven't missed you_

_At least, that's what I've told myself._

_But if you look within my eyes,_

_You'll find tears I cannot free._

_Aiyah._

_Have you forgotten, those cool nights down by the grass?_

_Have you forgotten, all that's in our past?_

_I haven't forgotten, and you know I never will..._

_You flew with the raven, over the black hill..._

_Fire comes, in my heart, burning me up, I can't see._

_I lost my wings, years and years ago..._

_You can't come back, and I can't go where you are.._

_You are free--- oh_

_Something I will never be._

_Have you forgotten, those cool nights down by the grass?_

_Have you forgotten, all that's in our past?_

_I haven't forgotten, and you know I never will..._

_You flew with the raven, over the black hill..._

_Time passes. I have tried to move on._

_But I thought of you, when I wrote this song..._

_So it would seem, I'll not forget you soon._

_Are you happy, over where you've gone?_

_I guess I'll never find out, but I'll ask you in this song._

_Have you forgotten, those cool nights down by the grass?_

_Have you forgotten, all that's in our past?_

_I haven't forgotten, and you know I never will..._

_You flew with the raven, over the black hill..._

_Well, time runs on, I still chase you in my dreams..._

_Fortune-teller, can you explain things to me._

_Such a 'blessing' is the third eye._

_All it will show me, Is you in the sky..._

_Have you forgotten, those warm nights in the spring.…?_

_Do you remember what we used to dream…?_

_All of those things we used to do together._

_You left them all behind..._

_With the passing raven's feather._

_Why did you leave them all behind..._

_Love you left me behind_

_I'm running out of time..._

_Please don't leave me here behind..._

_We've moved on, I try to stay strong._

_Even though you left me, I still have to go._

_There's much to do, here with in my life._

_I won't throw it away,_

_By the highway in the night._

_I'll stay here and watch the stars as they play with a black feather_

_Dancing in their light..."_ Crusander finished the final verse and last chords in the silence of the room. He looked nervously at the impassive audience, inching away from the mike, his face even redder then before. His movement broke the spell he'd woven over the audience and everyone leapt to their feet, cheering and clapping. Rosette clapped as hard as she could, cheering as loud as the others or louder. Joshua tapped her shoulder.

"We're going now, ok. You coming, or do you want to wait?"

"I'll be home soon." she smiled. "Later." Carefully as she could, she pressed her way to the stage, hoping to see 'Crusander'.

"Miss Christov?" Austy came over. "Pleased to meet you." he smiled, shaking her hand. "An excellent choice of music. I've never heard it before, but it was wonderful."

"Crusander was the one who played it, sir." she smiled. "And he was the one who really deserves all the credit for it." Austy laughed.

"I'd feel bad about getting him up on stage if it weren't for the fact his shift was almost over. You better head out, we're closing." Rosette looked at her watch and was stunned to find that it was after twelve.

"Right. Bye!" she ran to the door and out into the surprisingly dark night. "Oh no." she looked up and down the street. "No what?"

"Rosette!" A motor sounded from the street beside her. Rosette turned to see a motorcycle parking beside her. "Need a ride?" Chrono pulled off his helmet. "The others left already and my shift's done." Rosette blushed.

"Well..."

"It's an hour's walk home. The buses aren't running." shyly, he held out a hand. "It's faster." Rosette avoided the hand and climbed on behind him. "Hold on tight." he warned. Her face reddening more, she wrapped her arms around his waist and they started.

'This isn't the way home!" she called as they turned up a winding road.

"I thought I'd show you the view from up here." they slowed to a stop in the parking lot at the top. "This is signal hill. In the day, early evening and early morning, it's swamped with people. However." he gestured around the empty lot. "We are alone." he grabbed her hand and pulled her over to a low stone wall. Rosette gasped.

'It's beautiful!" She leaned on the wall, staring out at the glowing city, spread like a quilt below them. "Amazing." Chrono laughed, sitting on the wall.

'It's great up here. I used to come here with..." he fell silent, staring out at the city. Startled by his sudden change of mood, Rosette touched his arm.

"Well, I like it up here. If it doesn't bother you, could we come up-atchoo!" Shet! What a bad time to sneeze! Chrono smiled.

"Sure we can come here again." He tugged off his sweater and handed it to her. "Put that on. Can't have you getting sick." They climbed back onto the bike and coasted down the hill. Rosette smiled into his back, snuggling into the sweater. It was warm, but his back was warmer. Even in early fall, St. John's was cool at night. She fingered his shirt. He must be freezing, she thought as they slipped into the driveway, wearing only that thin black top. Quietly, Chrono unlocked the door and they went in.

"Thanks for coming with me, up to the hill, I mean." He pushed his glasses back up. Rosette smiled.

"Thank you for taking me." she started up the stairs. "Oh. And Chrono?" he looked back at her. "You aren't a bad singer either." She went upstairs, his blushing face fresh in mind.

A/n: Well, what did you think? Tell me please! Little purple button... anyway, I'll take suggestions for chapters to, but I know some of what's going to happen now. Preview for Letters from Hell coming soon! R& R and thank you! Oh yeah! Thanks to my pal McB for the song! She wrote it!


	7. Brothers

A/N: Hello, it's me. I have no idea where this chapter is going to go, but I have 10! Count them 10! reviews. Hurray! I'll do my best to get this chapter out soon!

Disclaimer: Oops, I forgot that last time, didn't I eheh...I don't own Chrono Crusade.

Chapter 7: Brothers

_Chrono. Chrono. A place to come back to...Chrono's not coming back. He's gone. Chrono. I don't want to die! She thought desperately. I have to stay and wait! She grabbed hold of some sort of desk and tried to pull her self up. She wasn't ready to die! A door behind her opened, washing her with late afternoon sun. She turned, seeing the shadow of a person in the door. He was back! This time, they would travel together._

Skid, skid, skid, skid-TWUMP! Skid, skid, skid, skid THWUMP! Padda-padda-padda-padda CRASH!

Rosette groaned and rolled over as a third crash sounded from the hall. Were these people always up early? It was Saturday for Pete's sake! There was a knock on her door.

"Rosette! Do you have any dirty laundry?" Chrono. She should've guessed. Did he ever stop running around?

"Chrono! Here's mine!" Az yelled. There was a very loud crash, several thumps, and many utterances of "Chrono! Omigosh! I'm sorry!" To heck with sleep. Rosette crawled from her bed and stomped to the door. Her raging entrance into the hall was ruined by slipping on the wet floor that Chrono had just mopped. She screamed as she tumbled down the stairs, which was exactly what had happened a moment ago to Azmaria when she slipped and fell into Chrono, sending both of them over the steps. Lucky for Rosette and Az, their landlord served as a nice mat to cushion their falls.

"Sorry Chrono!" Rosette said standing and trying to hide a grin. Az was fluttering around where Chrono'd hunched, fists balled at his mouth. Rosette frowned. "What's wrong? You aren't hurt, are you?" He shook his head mutely and grabbed the rail to pull himself up. He paused for a moment before turning to them.

"No." he shook his bangs back from his face and smiled, though it did seem somewhat strained. "No, I'm fine. You two aren't hurt, are you?" When they shook their heads, he seemed pleased. "Good. Anyone hungry?" Food? Rosette grabbed the collar of the sweater he was wearing and towed him to the kitchen.

"Hurry up will you! The morning's wasting away, and so am I!" Az laughed as Rosette shoved Chrono towards the stove and ran to get the frying pan from the cupboard. He was attempting to show the girl how to use it without killing someone, when someone knocked on the door.

"Watch the eggs," Chrono said to Rosette, handing her the handle, wiping his hands on his pants quickly before heading to the front door.

"What? Chrono-" Rosette squawked. She'd never held a frying pan before! Chrono laughed, touching Azmaria's shoulder.

"Will you give her a hand Az?" he asked, and the girl ran to join the other in the kitchen. Chrono stilled as he touched the doorknob. He really didn't want to open the door. He really didn't. He had to head to work at Prologue after lunch, and he still had homework to do before school on Monday. He had promised the kids he'd take them to the park if it was nice tomorrow, so he was depending on snatches of time between loads of laundry to finish his essay. If he didn't finish it today, he'd have to do it after his shift at Austy's Sunday night before school. That would mean starting another week of school on no sleep. Well, that wasn't uncommon for him.

"Coming, I'm coming!" he growled at the door, squaring his shoulders as he opened it and glared at _him_.

"Why brother," the man said, leaning in the doorframe. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you weren't happy to see me. How's life? Still a virgin?" Chrono narrowed his eyes, resisting the urge to pound the mocking grin of his elder brother's handsome face.

"What do you want?" Must keep in control...

"Chrono!" he turned as Rosette bounded down the hall. "We finished making- who is-" she stopped as she caught sight of the man who'd pushed pasted Chrono into the hall. "Y-you're Aion Castor! The journalist!" he smiled at her, an eerie thing that made her shiver. She'd seen him before, besides on TV, but before she could think of where, he'd swooped forward and kissed her hand. She resisted the urge to gag.

"Why Chrono--- you should've told me you had such lovely women staying in your house. I know you scare them all away, but still. You should take some lessons from your elder brother. So who is this lovely lady?" he turned to send a glare to his brother, "An introduction, and maybe breakfast is in order." The silver haired man looped his arm through Rosette's and led her into the kitchen. When Rosette glanced nervously back at Chrono, she was surprised to find his normally solemn eyes full of barely hidden hate. The murderous look didn't change as they sat down to eat.

"Rosette, this is my older brother, Aion Castor. Aion," he gritted his teeth as if even saying the name made him want to puke. (It did, but Rosette can't real Chrono's thoughts yet.) "This Is Rosette Christov. You've met, I believe."

Rosette looked hard at Aion. She was sure she'd seen him before, somewhere, but she couldn't place the face- besides on TV, that is. She slid her eyes over to Chrono as he handed out plates of food to her, Az and Aion.

"Where are Satella, Fi? Viede and Joshua?" she asked, noticing for the first time that they were missing. Chrono shrugged.

"They went out this morning, very early. I don't know where." He dished up three plates of food. "Hey." he turned to Azmaria. "Could you and Rosette take these downstairs?"

"Su-"

"Why Chrono. What kind of father hides his children away in a basement? I'm ashamed of you." Aion smirked. Rosette groaned inwardly as Chrono blushed. He really did that too easily, even if it was cute. Then she noticed the hate in his eyes had just become more visible. Woops. Not embarrassed blushing. Chrono gritted his teeth.

"I don't know." he said, restraint in his voice. "You'll have to answer that." He snapped another plate onto the table. Aion looked hurt.

"Brother! How can you speak to you're respected elder like that." Az quickly grabbed a plate.

"Come on!" she hissed. "Chrono asked us to take these downstairs." Reluctantly, Rosette took the other two and they went to the door to the lower apartment. Slowly she made her way down the black stairs. It was so small!

"Uncle Chrono?" a small mousey girl poked her head out from a doorway at the bottom. She narrowed her eyes at the two girls. "Who're you, and where's uncle Chrono?" she said, darting out into the hall and blocking their way. "I know Azmaria already." Az smiled cheerfully.

"Chrono's upstairs! Rosette is the new boarder." The girl still scowled. "You mean she's that Christov girl?" she wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Uncle Chrono's an idiot for bringing a Christov here." Rosette flushed angrily. Who did this brat think she was?

"Marie! That's enough!" A quiet voice reprimanded. Nina stepped quietly into the narrow passage. Rosette could feel the child's hollow eyes on her, reading her soul- what? That thought was ridicules! Well, she would've thought that if she hadn't grown up near the lab, though she often wished she hadn't.

Nina smiled. "Its okay, Marie." she touched her sister's arm. "Uncle Chrono sent them with breakfast because father is here." her face had take a pinched look and Marie had paled.

"Nina! You know you aren't supposed to use your powers!" she hissed furiously as they went into a (very) small living room.

"I didn't!" the small pale child replied. "Uncle Chrono told me this morning to expect something like this!" Rosette glanced up briefly from here study of the room. There was a TV, lots of books, movies and toys. A curtain hid a door into the backyard. She frowned at dim shape in the corner then turned to the three eating children. The third, Kino, had appeared with the mention of food. Rosette grinned as he wolfed down the plateful of eggs. Marie was still glaring at her, so Rosette glared back.

"What is your problem?" The child rolled her eyes and resumed eating.

"Uncle Chrono was stupid. You're going to hand him over to your family, if _father_ doesn't, like he did before." Rosette stilled. Aion. _Of course_.

_"Rosette! What are you doing here?"_ _Her father had arrived then, with a strange, white haired man who glared at Sassafras like he was ridden with a fatal, contagious disease. The man had scared her. _Aion was the man at the lab with Sassafras- or Chrono!

"The rat." she muttered. Marie didn't hear, but Nina smiled, handing Rosette her plate and tugging on her sleeve. Rosette followed the girl into the next room.

"This is my room." she fell silent, looking hard at Rosette, her eyes clouding slightly. The girl's fingers tightened on her arm, then she smiled. "Marie doesn't understand." She said simply. "You had to come here. It'll work this time, I'm sure of it!" Before Rosette could speak, Kino burst in.

"Hey Rosette, you wanna see my bedroom! Marie says she won't talk to you, but Nina thinks you're ok, and so does Uncle Chrono, so come on!" the boy, probably only five, grabbed her hand and raced her down the hall to his room. From there she was given the grand tour by Kino and Nina, reluctantly joined by Marie- just to make sure Rosette didn't hurt her siblings. They went to each of the small bedrooms, which despite their size had been designed to suit each child. A red and black room for Marie, with a low desk and lots of comics, a lavender and green room for Nina, though you could barely see it for the forest of plants, and a blue painted room for Kino, who appeared to like non-fiction picture books and dinosaurs. Rosette smiled. The rooms were sweet. Nina touched the last door at the far end of the hall.

"This is Uncle Chrono's room, but we don't go in there very often. He doesn't mind if we do, but he doesn't go in very often because he's always doing other things. He only goes in there to sleep now." she looked sad. "I don't know if he would let you see. I doubt he'd mind but-" her eyes widened and she turned to Rosette. "Go upstairs!" Startled, Rosette took a step back, locked by the dark eyes. It wasn't the girl that was speaking, not completely. Swiftly, without waiting for Az, who hadn't seemed to hear anything, Rosette darted up the steps, just as Chrono's chair fell to the floor.

"Fine. Now get out before I give into the temptation to kill you." Rosette and her friends had said similar things to each other, jokingly, but she suddenly sensed that Chrono wasn't faking it. He wasn't going to kill Aion, but he really, really wanted to hit him. His brother would deserve it! NO! He wouldn't hit him. He couldn't because that was a bad example for the kids, and- Rosette gagged as pain rushed into her head. Her brain felt like it was burning!

"Chrono-" she choked as she dropped to her knees, clapping her hand to her mouth. It HURT! The fire spread, consuming her. There was a clatter, then she couldn't feel anything except a nagging anguish that she was sure wasn't hers.

_Where are you? She was walking along a river in a desert. I can't find you. Someone was lying in the path before her. Who…No! She ran forward and knelt beside him, calling his name, over and over, knowing it was useless. He was gone, again. He'd made it all the way here, and she had been too late. Forgive me.. She thought as she threw herself in the river. I want to be with him..._

Something damp was set on her forehead. It was much too cold and it was only making her headache worse, she decided crossly. They shouldn't have made it so cold. He shouldn't've, that idiot.

"That's cold." she growled, sitting up and pulling off the cloth. Chrono leaned back in the chair he'd pulled out from the desk and closed his eyes. He was very pale, and there was a bruise forming on his cheek.

"You're alright." he ran his fingers through his hair, which was hanging in clumps around his face. "Sorry about that. Are you sure you're alright?" His hair really was very messy. Someone should brush it out for him, and braid it again. It looked nice when it was braided. "Rosette?" he leaned closer, concerned, waving a hand in front of her face. "Rosette?" she jumped.

"Sorry. Pass me that brush, will you?" Looking puzzled, Chrono got the brush and handed it to her. Rosette patted the side of the bed. "Sit." he did, and she ran the brush through the matted strands. "You sure keep your hair long. So what happened back there? What's the deal with Aion anyway. Why doesn't he look after his children? Oh! Sorry!" she added, working at a knot. Chrono sighed.

"How is it," he said wearily, "that when you've only been here three days, you've managed to nose out all my secrets? I must be getting lousy at hiding them." Rosette shrugged.

"I dunno. Just answer, then they won't be secrets anymore." she felt, more than saw his smile.

"Alright, Rosette-" unfortunately, the phone rang. Rosette groaned. What poor timing. Chrono picked it up.

"Hello?" he nodded. "Yeah, she's here." he handed her the phone.

"Hello? Rosette speaking." For a moment, she didn't recognise the voice.

"Hey Rosette. Roy here. Uh...d'you want to hang out today? There's a dance at the school this evening, and there's a concert on over at the park." Rosette bit her lip. She did want to make some friends at the school...but now?

"I have work now." Chrono said softly, standing. She nodded.

"Sure I'll go. See you soon." she hung up. "You will still tell me, right?" Chrono nodded.

"Yes. You'll know. See you." he waved, then trotted downstairs. Rosette sighed. Of all the rotten timing!

A/N: Well, I'm sorry this took so long to update- oo what was it? Two days? Like I said, there may be more time between chapters now, because they take so long to write... sorry. I'm working on it. So should I add a preview of Letters from Hell? R&R, and thanks for reading, I have another chapter to write...er...think of, first. (Sweat drop)


	8. A slow day

A/N: Hello, Snekochan here. Pleased to be writing. As always, I don't know how long this will take to write. (I have NO idea what this chapter will be like.) Please bear with me; I get them out as often as possible. I have some notes to make on the story today, mainly about the location.

New Time, New Place is based in St. John's. However, many of the places are fictional, mainly because I feel weird about writing about real places. I just thought it would be fun to use an actual city. Here's the rundown of what's real and what's not:

St. John's: Is REAL

BRADFORD STREET: is NOT real, unless there is one I haven't heard of. I do have a street in mind when I write about it, I just renamed it. (To protect the innocent). The house doesn't exist either. They are fictional. The location of this non-existent street is near downtown.

Magdalene high- no brainer there. No, it doesn't exist. The location that I think of is real. I just won't name it.

Austy's: nope. No such place

Prologue: based on a real shop, but it's not the real name.

I'll fill in others as I go, but that's the sum of them for now. If you think I should or shouldn't change names, let me know. Right. Enough talk Sneko, get writing!

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade or anything that goes with it.

New Time, New Place, chapter 8 (wow!):

"_Have they realized yet?" An angel asked. The other shook his head. _

_"No. But time is running out." The first looked concerned._

_"What do you mean? They have until they turn seventeen!" The second folded his arms._

_"They were supposed to have that long. It depends on how strong they are."_

Well then. He wasn't sure if the phone call was a welcome distraction or a hindrance, but either way it didn't matter. He had work, so he left Nina, Marie and Kino in Mr. Remington's hands and headed downtown to Prologue, trying to stop the thoughts buzzing furiously in his head.

Rosette knew more about him then anyone else ever had. Anyone else but Mary. Chrono bit his lip. He knew what had happened in the kitchen this morning.

This was not good. In fact, this was horrible, because it wasn't the first time such a thing had happened. This was what happened with Mary. When people got to close to him, bad things started to happen. It was part of his curse. He couldn't allow Rosette to get much closer. If he did, the outcome would be bad. Chrono touched to swelling on the back of his neck. He couldn't allow her to get too close; it would be cruel to her. Yes, he would tell her his past, he'd promised that much, but once she knew, she'd want nothing to do with him. He had to hope that the truth would be enough.

He didn't want her to be hurt too.

Rosette hadn't been sure what Roy was looking to do when he came to pick her up. He wasn't dressed up, in the way that adults think of being dressed up, but he had that I-don't-care-what-I-where-I-just-threw-this-on look that Rosette knew took a great deal of fashion skill to make work. Roy pulled it off very nicely, with his baggy black jeans, bright yellow hoodie and cap. Rosette grinned, looking at the glowering skull in flames design on the front.

"Hey." Roy called as he came up to the house. Rosette came out, locking the door behind her. "Nice...house." She rolled her eyes at that.

"It's not mine, or my family's. I had _nothing_ to do with the decorating of that dump." Well, maybe she wouldn't call it a dump now. The paint might be faded, but it wasn't an awful place to live...oh _what_ was she thinking? The place sucked. She couldn't wait for Christmas holidays (still months away, considering it was only late September) when she could go home for two weeks. Roy raised an eyebrow as they headed down the street.

"I'm guessing you don't like it here." Rosette shrugged, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as they stopped into a corner store.

"It's pretty slow, if you know what I mean." she said, putting a bag of candy on the counter and paying for it. "But I guess its ok. It's very...quaint. I haven't seen that many people outside of school." Roy paused, chewing on his apple flip, waiting for the light to change by the hotel.

"St. John's is slow compared to most large cities, but compare it to up the shore, and it's a much faster way of life. I can't imagine living in a big city. Compared to the town I used to live in, Tors Cove, St. John's huge." he laughed. "But then, Tors Cove was pretty small as those places go that way." They walked along the waterfront, looking at various boats docked at the wharf, before turning and walking up a steep hill to Him Tortans, where they stopped to get some lunch.

"Ooooh." Rosette groaned over her soup. "Is it just hills here or what? How do you get around without having your legs fall off, or without cutting them off in agony? Sheesh." Roy laughed, rubbing at his freckled nose.

"You get used to it. St. John's is full of hills, but so are most other places on this part of Newfoundland. You'll have strong legs when head back. "He popped the last of his sandwich into his mouth. "I'm done." Rosette stood up.

"Finally! Let's go!" she'd finished her soup before Roy had started talking. Now that the beast inside had been quelled, it was time to walk around.

"I have to pick up a novel for class on Monday," Roy said, holding the door for her. "So we have to make a quick stop into Prologue." he rolled his eyes. "A book store."

They didn't have far to go. Roy turned two doors down from Him Tortans and entered a well-lit bookstore, walking up to the counter and speaking with the cashier. She smiled to Rosette, fixing her glasses, and then returned to talking to Roy, her mouse brown hair slipping even more askew from its flipped braid. (For those who don't know: a flipped braid it when you take your hair (usually fairly long), braid it, fold up the braid and clip it so it the end looks like a short, bouncy ponytail.) Rosette sighed as the girl went to search the shelves, resigning herself to looking around. She peered at the jewellery, and then headed to the fiction section. Not that she wanted anyone to know she read, but she'd read everything she brought with her on the plane. When she was younger, she'd spent a good bit of time alone while her parents were away on business. She had nurses and maids, but they don't make good playmates, and since she had a private tutor, she didn't have to go to school. This was all fine, but it left her bored. She discovered reading, and proceeded to go through all the books she liked in the library, as well as all she was interested in on the internet. As she got older, she discovered video games and gameboys, fashion mags, etc. What she hadn't done in ages was read a good book; she hadn't had the desire to.

Suddenly she wanted a book to read. In this quiet dump, she was probably going to have way too much time on her hands, and she didn't want to have to watch the anime junk Az and the others watched on the only TV downstairs. A book it was. Quickly, Rosette went to the fiction section, cursing as she realized it was in full view of the window. She'd have to hurry if she didn't want anyone to see her. She scanned the covers on the shelf and picked up one, grinning. Letters from Hell. Perfect. This was the capital of boring land, and for her, that counted as hell. Rosette flipped it open, scanning the first paragraph or so.

_Kate stepped off the train, stretching her back as she did._

_"Stiff?" Ewan asked, taking her arm as they descended the steps. "Not for long." she smiled as he gestured to the two paths before them. One of darkness, one of light. "Heaven is just ahead." Kate smiled. She'd worked for God for so many years, now she was finally going to meet him._

_"Do... Ewan, do you think Rosette made it?" the once nun looked sad for a moment, thinking of the young sister who'd died years ago after making a contract with a demon. Ewan Remington smiled._

_"I'm sure she-" a huge explosion shook the ground, coming from the path of light. Surprised, they both turned to it._

_"ROSETTE!" Kate blanched. It would seem that the klutzy nun who adored weapons and explosions of all kinds had indeed made it into heaven. Ewan crossed his arms, glancing at the other path, the path to hell. The person he was curious about now was the nun's kind-hearted demonic partner. What had become of him when he passed on?_

_"Excuse me." a low, gruff voice hissed. "Sir." Ewan's eyes picked out a shadowy figure standing just beyond the start of the path to hell. He stiffened, prepared for a trick, turning away._

_"You won't catch me, demon." he snapped. "I'm not stupid." he took a step towards the shining gates that Kate was walking towards._

_"No please!" the cloaked figure dropped to the bone covered path, shaking. Ewan winched, seeing a drop of blood hit the ground. "Please! I swear this isn't a trick! Please, will you take this and deliver it to heaven?" Ewan gasped as the figure extended a thin bony hand, clenched in which was a letter. Bracing himself, Ewan took the slender envelope. Nothing happened._

_"Thank you." the figure whispered. "Thank you." he stood, and Remington got a quick glimpse of scarlet eyes before the demon vanished down the trail. It was only then Ewan Remington looked at the name on the letter._

_Written in thin, careful, familiar writing was a name he knew only to well. Written in red ink were the words: Please deliver this to Rosette Christopher. Surprised, Ewan walked up to the gates of heaven and went in._

_"Father Remington! You made it!" He was nearly tackled by Rosette as she flew over to him. She was different from when he'd last seen her. She'd looked peaceful when she died. Happy almost. To Ewan's horror, that happiness seemed to have faded. Not entirely, but this was not the cheerful, energetic girl he'd known. _

_Rosette's eyes landed on the letter and she snatched it from him, opening it with shaking hands..._

"Rosette? You ready to go?" Roy asked, tapping her shoulder and jolting her from the pages. She looked at him for a moment until she realized he was ready to go, the book found and safely bought.

"Uhm...yes! Just a minute. I need to buy this." Quickly, Rosette darted to the counter. The girl who'd been talking to Roy was helping some people over by the Jewellery case, and someone else had taken her spot…

"Chrono!" Rosette sputtered. "Are you stalking me or what?" He blinked at her.

"Nope. I just work here. How 'bout you? I mean, you seem to show up where ever I am. Maybe it's the other way around." He quirked an eyebrow, and Rosette turned red.

"A coincidence, nothing more, I assure you." she squeaked, trying to sound calm. How dare he suggest such a thing? He wished she was stalking him. What kind of person would voluntarily _want_ to follow him around? Stupid purple haired, red-eyed landlord!

"Rosette?" Roy touched her arm. "You done?" Darnnit! Rosette stuffed the book into her bag and scooted out the door. Roy looked vaguely surprised at this, but he strolled along beside her, hands behind his head. "So. You seem to know Creep Crusa fairly well."

"He's not creepy. He's just an idiot." she snorted, not noticing Roy's startled look. "He's my land lord, and a stupid one at that. He's really annoying, and he always shows up, where ever I go." Rosette folded her arms. "He's so weird."

"You got that right! But he is creepy. Once, he spazzed out in class, his eyes were glowing and everything. He said something to one of the teachers, and the teacher nearly fainted. He passed out afterwards, but it was really cool. He didn't come to school for a week after that." Roy picked up a cd from the shelf studying the back. Rosette went through the section labelled rock. It was fairly large, but she couldn't figure out why so many of her favourites were under alternative. She still would've called it pop. Oh well. Roy looked at his watch as he returned the cd to its slot.

"It's nearly five. We should get something to eat and head on if you want to be ready for the dance."

"What time is the dance?" She asked, fiddling with her shoulder bag.

"Starts eight thirty, runs to eleven thirty, but it usually runs over to twelve. Want to go?" Rosette nodded.

"Sure. I can get something to eat at home. Meet you there!" She tore down the street. What did she have to wear? What did one where at a dance? She was confused. What was the dance for? She'd heard an announcement about it at school but she couldn't remember. Well, a dress should be fine, she hoped. Or would just a skirt suffice? Lost as she was in these world-altering thoughts, she didn't see the man in her path until she'd walked into him.

"Careful there, Miss." A perfectly tanned hand helped her up, and Rosette found herself staring at non other than Aion. She tried not to narrow her eyes-she really didn't like this guy- but she wasn't sure if did or didn't. Aion brushed a speck of dust off his white jacket. "Ruined!" he moaned. "You'll owe me for that one. Seven hundred and fifty dollars please." he said calmly, holding out a hand. Rosette bristled.

"What? For a speck? No way!" she turned to leave, but Aion caught her arm, forcing her around. He was pouting, a hurt look on his face.

"Rosette. What lies has my cruel brother woven into your pretty head about me?" he crooned, steering her into a nearby cafe, The Roll Cafe, seating them in a window booth. "Have a meal with me. The Boston Bake here is good."

"I'm not hungry." Rosette snapped, tossing her hair back. Unfortunately, (as normally happens...) her stomach growled and Aion smiled his point. Sullenly, Rosette resigned herself to a meal with him. They put in their orders, and waited. Aion twirled a fork around his finger.

"Soooo. What has my sweet little brother told you about his _situation_? I'm very interested to know, seeing as you have a disliking for me when we've met only twice, now included." Rosette took a sip of water. Situation? What was he talking about? The kids?

"We met at the labs too." she said stiffly. "And what situation are you talking about?" Aion puzzled.

"The labs? Oh _yeeesss_. Christov. Why didn't I think of it? Your Vincent's..."

"Daughter."

"I see. Well, Chrono made a good subject, so I'm told. Doing those tests was about the only noble thing he's ever done. Heh, no wonder he go himself known as the king of scandal in our family." she looked up. Scandal? What could Chrono've done? "So, of course you know how strained things are with our parents. They were so-o ashamed of him that they estranged him. They'll have nothing to do with him, nothing at all." While Aion looked sad, Rosette had a sudden feeling he wasn't. Not in the slight. "And the fool. Whenever I come near, he goes and looses his temper. What's a well known journalist to do?" Rosette glared at him.

"You could take some responsibility. What about those children? They're yours, right?" Aion gave his water glass a flamboyant tap with his fork before setting the utensil down with a tap and leaning forward.

"Not when it comes to some _important_ relations…" he smirked, then planted a kiss on her lips.

"_WHAT_!" Rosette tried to push him away, but he pulled her closer, leaning over the table. Struggling, Rosette chanced to glance out of the window, meeting Chrono's blank red eyes as he came out of Prologue, conveniently located across the street. He paused there for a moment then turned and strode down the street. As soon as he was past the window, Aion released her.

"Well," he said, daintily dabbing at his lips with a napkin. "That was fun. Off you go, you have a dance to get ready for, don't you?" Rosette left before he could open his foul mouth and cause any more damage. He was right. She did have a dance to get ready for. But there were other things that needed doing too.

A/N: I am soooooo sorry this took so long- what was it? Five days? Ooooh. (Faints from embarrassment) I'm sooooo sorry. I want to thank all the people who reviewed my story, and I'm sorry this chapter is so lame. Next chapter is the start of some things-I think, but you know how these things go. I will do my best, so please review!


	9. The Dangers of Dancing

A/N: Hello, Sneko here. As usual, I'm hoping that this chapter doesn't take too long to make, because I hate making people wait. I have a couple things to do before I start of with _chapter 9_ whoa, what's up with that? How'd this get so long? If you like it, don't worry. It isn't nearly finished yet. If you don't like it well... tough. I'd like to thank all of the people who've reviewed this story. You guys are wonderful, and I surely would've quit if it wasn't for you. Feel needed, you are.

PLACES: this is the part where I say what's real and what's not, seeing as I am using a real city. I won't repeat things, so you'll have to look up ones from previous chapters if it matters that much. If you notice any places I've missed, please tell me. If I haven't included them, they probably aren't real, but check anyway. These are from chapter Eight.

The Hotel: I didn't name it, but if you walked down from the street I think of when I write about Bradford st., then you would indeed cross a street by a hotel.

The corner store: the same goes for this as well. If you walked down from 'Bradford st' you would pass by a Corner store that sells candy and apple flips.

The Music store: Yes, there is a music store in downtown St. John's NL. I didn't name it in the last chapter, but I'm going to call it Ted's. (Hee hee. If you know down town St. John's, you'll know where I'm talking about. Prologue is a bit harder. Do you know where?)

Oh yes, the cafe across from Prologue. In real life there is a cafe across the street from "Prologue", but it isn't called the Roll Cafe. (Roll as in bread, that's a clue for those of you trying to find the real location. Any of you ever been to St. John's, or from there? Probably not.)

Aaaanndddd I think that's it. Oh yeah. I forgot again...

Disclaimer: I don't own it!

New Time, New Place, chapter 9: The Dangers of Dancing

_"What do you think?"_

_"He is weakening. The boy hasn't much time left..."_

What was she going to say to Chrono? Rosette squished the thought. Why the hell was she so worried?

Firstly, Chrono was simply her land lord, nothing more. They weren't friends or anything other than housemates.

Secondly, it shouldn't matter to him who kissed her. He hadn't said anything, so it hadn't bothered him. Why would it? He didn't like her. She could kiss whoever she wanted, and, although the thought of kissing Aion made her shudder, it was fine, none of his business. She scurried across the street by the hotel, kicking at the light post. Stupid Aion. Stupid Chrono. It must run in the family.

Rosette shook her head. This was ridicules! She had to get home -urk!- back to the dump and get ready for the dance! She had a date. She slowed, rolled that one around in her head. That's right. She had a date. With Roy. They were going to the dance.

They were going on a date.

Sure, Roy wasn't the ideal boyfriend, but it was a start. She paused by the trees outside the house and looked up. If she had a boyfriend, than the only one she should've not wanted to see the kiss was him, and he was Roy. Not Chrono. She did not need to worry if Mr. Annoying saw her kiss someone.

This in mind, she put her hand on the doorknob. It didn't matter. It didn't matter.

Even if the person who kissed her was the one person she knew he hated, it didn't matter. It didn't matter, because if it mattered, it meant she cared about how Chrono felt, and caring about how Chrono felt meant that she liked him, just a tiny bit.

When it came to Chrono D'Crusa, just a little bit was more than a little too much. He was stupid. Stupid for seeming to care about who she kissed! (When had he seemed bothered by it? To her, never. To himself, you'll find out. She just turned it around so he was in trouble.) Squaring her shoulders, Rosette opened the door, noticing the smell of chocolate.

"Someone's home!" Kino ran out and grabbed her arm with sticky kid fingers. Ew. "Rosette!" He started towing her to the kitchen. "We're making cake!" He shoved Rosette into the sweet smelling room, launching himself back over to the counter and complaining that his sisters had licked the bowl without him. Chrono, apron clad and flour covered handed the child a spoon covered in gooey, sweet batter, instantly quieting him.

"Hey Rosette. Want some?" Chrono held out a wooden spoon, also covered in batter. Rosette backed away from the sticky mess.

"What.. What do I do with it?" she asked. All three children looked shocked.

"You lick it off. It's chocolate cake batter." he gave it to her. "I take it you never did that as a kid?" Rosette frowned.

"What? No. The cook does this. I never go to the kitchen." she gave the spoon a delicate lick. He eyes widened and she licked again. Soon she was bickering with the kids over who would get the last of the batter from the bowl, because despite what Kino had noisily lamented, there was still plenty left. Chrono chuckled quietly, and Rosette watched out of the corner of her eye as he took the steaming desert out of the oven and set it to cool. He wiped his hands on his apron and turned to the mucky trio.

"Time to get cleaned up, you three. You all have homework to do." the trio groaned and skulked downstairs to get cleaned up while Chrono washed the dishes. "You going to the dance at the school tonight? Roy mentioned something about it."

"When did you talk to Roy?" Chrono hung his apron on the back of the kitchen door.

"Earlier today. Have fun." he grabbed a pen off the counter and pushed past her to the basement door, stopping, like he wanted to say something. After a minute he sighed and went down the steps, leaving Rosette to solve what she was going to wear to the dance.

The dance was a theme dance, this much she knew as she glared at her reflection i the mirror, picking at a zit. What she didn't know was what kind of dance it was. And what did people wear to dances anyway? She should've asked Roy, but, seeing a he was a boy, he probably wouldn't know what girls wore. Rosette held up a pair of jeans. What had the announcement on the PA said about casual wear? Must wear? Can't wear? Knowing the way these people imposed stupid rules, the latter was probably true. And weren't dances big affairs? She studied the sparkily material on the dress. Yes it was pretty. Very pretty. Would Roy like it? Or did he prefer casual clothes? Rosette glanced at the clock.

"Aw sassafras! I'm gonna be late!" she strung herself into the dress and ran to her closet. Shoes... shoes... what... ah! She stood up, a pair of high heels in her hand. Perfect! She stuffed her feet into them and raced out the door. They were just closing the doors as she bolted through them at ten to nine. She'd made it!

"Rosette?" Roy came up, wearing a hockey jersey. "What are you wearing?" Rosette looked down at her dress, then around at the dark gym. she couldn't see what the others were wearing, but she could tell that not one girl was wearing a dress.

"A... dress. Isn't that what you wear to dances?" Roy sighed and took her arm, leading her over to the refreshment tables where there were chairs to sit on. He took the seat beside her, looking embarrassed.

"Uhm... yes, you can wear dresses. It's just that this is a _sports_ theme, for this dance. But hey-" he added, seeing her near tears nod. "You- you look great." He smiled, waving a hand towards the stage. "As soon as they solve the problem with the stereo, we can dance. How 'bout that?" Rosette smiled.

"Alright." As if on cue, the boy on the stage signalled to a woman standing to the side and darted out of sight as she clacked up in her 6 inch heels. Rosette grinned into her hand. She wasn't the only one dressed up. He woman, clad in a tight black dress stepped into the spotlight.

"Hello and good evening, all of you. My name is Rizel Fogwell, and you probably know that I'm the leader of theatre activity in this area. Next week, your school will begin work on a production for the theatre department of St. John's. It will be acted by students from this school and you will be designing costumes and sets, etc. The person directing it will be a special guest, whom you will meet on Monday. Your Language Arts teachers will explain the rest of this on Monday, but for now, enjoy the dance!" she stepped off the stage and the music started. Roy grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor, nearly knocking over the boy who was bringing in drinks to the snack bar. As Rosette glanced back at him from between the dancers, she noticed he was the same one who'd been fixing the music equipment. A useful kid.

The song was fast and hard, the students bounded and flailed about with no sense of rhythm what-so-ever. If she hadn't been trying so hard not to get killed, she would've found it funny, or at least enjoyed it a little bit. As it was, she was finding the only thing that she'd gotten was a major headache.

"Isn't this great!" Roy yelled, leaping from side to side. "It's to raise money for the basketball team to go to a tournament in Corner brook. I can't wait to go. My-ah-friend lives there." Rosette smiled, dodging the elbow of a teen dressed in a tight black pair of pants and top. the other girl spun around, red hair swirling as she shoved Rosette out of the way and fluttered her eyes at Roy. As soon as Rosette was adrift in the rhythmically impaired students, she was swept away until she was back at the refreshment table. Maybe she should just go home she thought, reading eleven thirty off the clock and watching Roy dance with the other girl. The girl seemed to be enjoying herself, and Roy hadn't seemed to notice anything was different about his dancing partner, or if he did, he didn't mind.

No. He really didn't mind. Rosette realized, as he took the other girls hand and led her from the gym. A pair of girls behind her sighed dreamily.

"That's sweet," one said, re-braiding her thick black hair. "Roy and Nancy are back together."

"Yeah. And he sure saw through that Christov girl's flirting. Nancy was really worried, but good ol' Roy saw right through it. Anyone with two eyes could've."

"Ugh. Did you see what she was wearing? What a dolt."

"Speaking of dolts..." the pair went off, giggling and slandering the guy who'd been in delivering the refreshments. Apparently, he was different than the normal guy they had come in. Rosette stood. There was no point staying here. The dance would be over soon anyway, and Roy could walk his stupid Nancy to hell for all she cared. Turning on her heel, she stalked from the school.

It was dark as she stomped outside. There were streetlamps, but they did little in the fog that seemed to roll in and out with the waves in the harbour. Soon after storming down the streets, leaving a trail of flattened tin cans behind her, she couldn't see anything and she was completely lost. She frowned at the street post and tried to orient herself. Should she turn left or right here? She took the left and continued. Right, left, stupid car for nearly running her over, down one street, up another. As found a street that looked similar, but the name was wrong. She wiped around as something screeched behind her, hooking her heel in a large sidewalk crack. She thumped to the ground, her ankle giving a hard wrench. Shaking, she tried to get up, winching as she put weight on it. It wasn't broken, or even sprained, she'd just twisted it. However, it still hurt, and she couldn't get anywhere with her shoe broken.

She was completely and totally lost. Sniffing, she sat down on some old steps, shivering and scrubbing at her eyes. She took off her other shoe and inspected her feet. As she feared, they were covered with developing and rather painful blisters.

This day had sucked, big time. What was she supposed to do now? Rosette pulled her legs up to her chest, trying to keep as little of her on the damp step as possible. Stupid. She should've brought a jacket. The stupidness of the idiots here must be rubbing off on her. Rosette swallowed, shutting her eyes. Maybe when she opened them, she'd find it had all been a bad dream. She pressed her head to her knees and tried to ignore the spitting rain that bit her shoulders. Stupid Newfoundland weather. She wished the fog would find someone else to soak through. Of course, in this thin dress- she swore as a car shot by, covering her in mud. Some people walked by, men with a straggly gait. Quickly, Rosette scooted back into the shadows of the steps until they passed. She huddled there, grateful for the little shelter she could get from the wind that'd crept up, bringing with it a stinging outburst of rain. Rosette rubbed her hands together. A warm shower would be really nice now. She'd stay in for an hour, regardless of what Satella said. It'd take her at least two hours to get warm. Two hours in the shower, and two days (atleast) in bed. Rosette stiffened as another group of people clomped by, pulling their collars higher. What'd Az say about fall here? Something about the temperature... oh who cared! She twisted the sopping end of her dress, twining it around her fingers. A vehicle was approaching and she covered her face to avoid the mud. It must've turned, she realized, as the sound died without ever passing. She didn't bother putting up her head. She'd been lucky so far. Back in Miklin, had this happened, she would've been... well, she'd been lucky, she told herself. If she didn't die from the rain by tomorrow, she'd be able to ask someone for directions and get ho- back to the dump. Geez! She had to stop thinking of it as home. It wasn't. It was simply a place to stay. They probably hadn't even noticed she wasn't there, all snuggled up in bed (not together! -Sneko), happily sleeping. She glanced at her watch. Three o'clock. Bed. She was tired...someone put something around her shoulders and picked her up.

"No..." she mumbled blearily, trying to struggle. She stopped, because the effort was too much. And if the person -who said nothing- was going to do something, why not do it here? She was set down, but she found herself leaning against something warm, so she didn't complain. The thing she'd been set on started to vibrate as a motor started, the same one she'd head earlier.

"You sure did a good job getting lost." Rosette opened her eyes and looked up. Chrono steered them out into the empty street, water dripping from his hair, face, everywhere. He was even more soaked than she was, and the rain was mixed with blood and darkened over buises. Rosette hugged his jacket closer around herself. It too was wet, but it wasn't too bad. Better than her dress anyway.

"What happened to your face?" she asked, her voice rough. He started, for he hadn't known she was awake.

"Ah... nothing. It was a bad night over at Austy's. Had to kick someone out when I got back from working delivery. They weren't very pleased with me. Are you ok? Nothing happened, did it? I would've got there sooner, but I couln't find- atchoo! You are okay, aren't you?" he sniffed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Sasafras and pepper corns. You took a wrong turn at the start. You should've turned right." Rosette swallowed. He'd come looking for her, even in this rain. She tried to stiffen her shoulders, but she gave up and slumped against him, swiping away the increasing river of insistant tears.

"I-I'm fine. Isn't hard to drive like this? With me in front?" Chrono shook water from his face, squinting at the road. "And where are your glasses!" he muffled a cough as they turned up a road.

"Yeah, it is kinda hard driving like this. I thought you'd passed out, and you would've fallen off otherwise. You've got a bit of a fever." He rolled his shoulders a little, trying to loosen them as they shuddered to a stop in the driveway. "Here we are." He lifted her from the motorcycle and set her on the ground, concern on his face as she winched.

"I twisted an ankle. It's fine." he smiled at her, then bent down slightly.

"Put your arms around my neck." he was blushing, but she did as he asked, squealing as he stood and swung her up, piggybacking her to the house. "Your shoes are broken anyway." he fumbled with the lock, using one hand.

"Aren't I too heavey?" she hissed, playing with his braid.

"No-aug!" he dropped to his knees on the front carpet as she touched a swelling at the base of his skull. Rosette scrambled away, startled as he clamped a hand over the spot. His face paled greatly, but before she could ask about it, Shader raced up the stairs.

"Chrono! You found her! Thank goodness! Rosette! You aren't hurt, are you? You're ok! Great! Oh, you're soaked! Come on!" Shader hauled her up and to the bathroom. "Chrono! Kids're in bed. I'll go get her cleaned up and- you ok." Shader stopped, frowning him. Rosette turned. Chrono hadn't gottened up from where he'd fallen as they got home. He shook his head wearily and pulled himself up.

"Go get her cleaned up." he said, smiling. "I'll be fine. I haven't taken my medicine yet, but once I do that I'll be alright, 'kay? I hope you feel better tomorrow, Rosette!" he added, stumpling down the hall and into the basement. Shader looked worried, but then took Rosette upstairs.

"What was that about?" Rosette looked at Shader, who smiled distractedly.

"Your room is 2b? I'll get your clothes."

"Shader!" she grabbed the woman's arm. "What did-"

"Only Chrono can tell you that, Rosette. It would be unfair of me to tell you. Ask him sometime, he trusts you. He'll tell you when he's ready." Shader pushed her into the bathroom. "Go get cleaned up before you catch a cold! Get!"

Shader sighed as Rosette closed the door and turned on the water. What a night this'd been.

"Chrono, you idiot." she muttered furiously, tossing some clothes into Rosette. "You've got to tell her sometime. You intend to, don't you?" Shader stared at her hands, holding them away from her as if they had blood on them. She walked to the window and looked out, rubbing tears from her face. "Don't push her away now." Shader rested her forehead against the cool glass. "You have less time than you think." Aion. Why had she gotten mixed up with him...

Oh Chrono.

A/N: Well, that's chapter nine. Next chapter- some explanations at the park! Yay! Then things start to get rolling! Please, please, please read and review! And yah, I know this is the second time Chrono's picked Rosette up. But that's what he does, while he still can...dundundaaaaa. Hee hee. See you in chapter ten-I hope!


	10. A Day at the Park

A/N: Kyaaaaa! Chapter ten! I can't believe it! And 28 review! Meyow! (Sorry. I'm really happy. At least you can't see my happy dance.) Anyway, Thank you once again for all the review, and I'm sorry for those of you who didn't like last chapter, but the dance was a necessary operation- I mean hey, what if Rosette didn't find out that Roy had a girlfriend and fell in love with him, hmmm? Then Chrono would be stuffed in the closet again. Never underestimate the uses for things in fan fic. everything is supposed to have a purpose or be edited out. (Ok, I'm not really that fussy. I just try and do things with a reason in mind.) But, to tell you the truth, I _hate_, and I do mean _hate_ dances. I really do. So, please understand, that I wouldn't use it without purpose. Anyway, onto chapter ten.

Disclaimer: blahblah blah. You know. Why do I have to say it?

New Time, New Place, Chapter 10: Things to Do at the Park and a little on Chrono

_"What do you mean he doesn't have much time? You gave them until they were seventeen!" The golden haired angel cried, her voice rising in pitch. The other, an older angel with greyed wings sighed, looking through time to a worn, tattered bedroom._

_"I did. Sadly, there is another player on the field, and his queen has just stepped from the ranks. If we aren't careful, checkmate will be inevitable."_

_"What would happen then?" The older angel gave her a reproving glance, causing her to cower. "They'll die?"_

_"No. They won't." The grey angel's eyes darkened, his face becoming grim. They couldn't fail forever, could they?_

"Uncle Chrono, hurry!"

"Yeah! Come on!" Rosette muttered something Chrono would never say and pulled her blankets over her head. It was seven in the morning, Sunday morning, for God's sake. It should be against the law to get someone up this early after a night like last night. Geez.

"Yes, I'm coming as fast as I can, but please, you've gotta be quiet! Everyone else is still asleep!" Chrono was saying. There was a scuffling from the kitchen. "Kino!"

Rosette stood up. The problem here was that you couldn't get a decent amount of time to sleep in. She pulled on jeans, a black long sleeved tee shirt and a sweater. The other problem was that it always was wet and raining. That really sucked. Rosette noticed the pile of damp clothes from last night, Chrono's jacket heaped with the rest. She plucked up the jacket, grabbed her sneakers and padded downstairs.

"Good morning Rosette." Chrono called brightly from the back deck where he was pulling soaked clothes off the line. Kino, Marie and Nina were eating breakfast, arguing over pancakes. Nina waved to her. "Hello Rosette." she greeted in her odd voice.

"Uh...Hi Nina." Rosette answered in foodish as she dug into the pancakes Chrono handed her as he came in.

Chrono. She watched him as he joined them at the table and started eating. If he felt as tired as she did, he didn't show it. Kino tugged at her sleeve, giving her a syrup covered grin.

"You're coming to the park with us today, aren't you?" Marie rolled her eyes.

"Don't be stupid, Kino you lamebrain. She's not com-"

"Actually," Chrono cut in, giving them a patient smile before meeting Rosette's eyes. For a moment, she was caught in the warm two tone waters, then she realized he'd asked her to come with them. She fiddled with her sticky fork.

"Sure, I guess, seeing as I'm already up." Chrono looked guilty.

"Sorry. we were somewhat noisy." All four, nieces, nephew and uncle looked sheepish. Rosette tried to scowl, then gave up and stuck her tongue out at them. They were a funny group, and she couldn't have stayed mad at them, even if she really tried. Besides, the pancakes were good, and the light from the window showed that it might be a nice day after all. Kino grinned at Marie.

"Told ya!" the older girl snorted and glared at Rosette while Nina simply smile to herself. Her siblings were vying for Rosette's attention, whether they acknowledged it or not, but it was useless. The pretty teen was too busy hiding the blush that'd coloured her face when Chrono had smiled at her.

The playground was deserted when they arrived, brightly coloured and still damp from the fog. Undaunted, Kino and Marie cheered, dropping their bags by a green bench and racing to the slide. Chrono laughed, swing Nina down from his shoulders so she could join the others. He stacked the back pack neatly, adding his own, and sitting down.

"This bench isn't too wet. Do you want a sweater to sit on?" Rosette shook her head and sat down, looking around the park in confusion.

"What's all that for?" she pointed to the play equipment, surrounded by trees and being well used by Chrono's little family. Chrono seemed surprised, but he pointed to each piece and explained their use to the befuddled girl.

"Hey Rosette!" Kino yelled, standing on the top of the slide. "Watch thi-yaaauugg!" with a yelp, the child lost his balance and plunged head first down the slide, screaming all the way down and for a couple seconds after until he realized Chrono had caught him at the base. Beet red, the eight year old retreated to the monkey bars.

"Uncle Chrono, Will you push me?" Marie yelled from the swings.

"Waaahh! Uncle Chrono! I'm stuck!" Kino hollered from the top of the monkey bars where he'd clambered too high.

"Hey! I asked first!"

"But I'm gonna fall!"

"Race you too the see saw!"

"Will not!"

"Yow! Uncle Chrono! Marie hit me!"

"Did not!" Rosette watched, astounded as Chrono waded through the playground madness as Marie and Kino bickered with themselves and the other children who started arriving.

"A funny group, aren't they." A curly haired woman said, seating herself next to Rosette and pulling out her knitting as the little girl she'd brought with her joined Nina at the sandbox "They come here every Sunday. The older boy, Chrono, is a real sweet heart. No parent has to worry about their children's safety if he's around. He's a dear. Keeps them all in order and plays with them too." Rosette smiled absently, watching Chrono pluck a howling toddler out of a puddle and mopping the mud off as the mother ran over.

"Hello, Mrs. Hann." Nina said, coming over. "Do you want to see the sand castle we made?" She brought Mrs. Hann over to see the castle she and her friend had made.

"You look bored." Chrono said with a smile, leaning over the back of the bench as he took a break from playing tag with Kino and some other children. He'd pulled his hair back in a ponytail, but a few strands had escaped to play around his thin face.

"You keep your hair really long." Rosette blurted, watching as the wind tossed his ponytail. Chrono shrugged and dropped onto the bench beside her.

"I'm going to get it cut." he said stiffly. Rosette ignored the unusually cool tone and reached over his lap, capturing a strand around her fingers.

"Oh." she played with the hair, tugging it to test the strength and admiring the shades it turned in the light. "That's a shame." Chrono frowned, his hand rising to push up his glasses until her remembered he wasn't wearing them. He rubbed his eye instead, looking at her out of the corner of his red eye. "A shame," Rosette continued, trying to keep her voice steady as her heart gave her a hard kick. "B-because it's- it looks pretty long. Er- handsome?" She went a wonderful pink colour, one that an artist would love to have, but it was nothing to the colour Chrono's cheeks went as his eyes widened in surprise. Rosette had the sudden impression that it wasn't very often he received compliments and that she'd just shocked the hell out of him. The thought made her heart do some very strange acrobatics in her chest. Over by the sandbox, Mrs. Hann smiled as she watched the odd couple on the bench, giving Nina a wink. The little girl smiled back, focusing on her digging. It was rude to stare. Besides. She'd already seen it coming.

"Uncle Chroooonnnnooooo-----" Chrono looked up to see what the problem was, and Rosette quickly turned too, but Mrs. Hann was already dealing with the problem, mainly involving Kino and Marie. Smiling, Chrono relaxed as he watched the large group playing, but mainly as he watched his three.

"You really care about them, don't you." Rosette said quietly. Her friend shrugged.

"They're family." he said, as if that answered everything. "It's not their fault that Aion doesn't want them."

"Why don't your parents help you? You have to work all the time, and you don't get time to date, or socialize-"

"I'm socializing with you, aren't I? That aught to count. Anyway, my parents want nothing to do with me." Chrono handed a peanut butter sandwich to Kino, then to the other children who flocked over. Luckly, most of their parents knew him and had expected it. "The Castors are a proud, wealthy family. Aion is their eldest, and the heir. When Marie came along, my parents kept it quiet. Then Kino came, and Nina. All from different mothers whom Aion had no intention of marrying. They had to do something and they couldn't risk it getting out. They paid off the women then looked for a way to get rid of the kids. The perfect oppertunety came when Nina showed the same 'powers' as I did. Since I was already their shamed 'crazy' son, they could now easily pin the blame on me, giving them the perfect excuse to kick me out. They got rid of their scandelous younger son, the kids and the blemish on Aion's name. As far as they're concerned, I'm the father."

"That's awful!" Rosette sputtered. "What kind of-"

"These are the same people that stuck me in a lab for eight years or so. I don't really remember. Anyways, it wasn't a big jump to make. I was already living here. Naw, I don't see the point in concerning myself over it. I have enough to think about, namely spreading my pay check out. But you don't need to know any of this, it's my life." he gave a quick smile, which disapeared as his gold eye gave a flash. He lept up and raced to the sandbox, scooping Nina up and curling protectivly around her. Rosette ran over. What now? Why was he- Mrs. Hann caught her arm, keeping her back among the others, parents and children who'd all seen this happen often enough that they finally just accepted it.

"Easy lass. This happened now and again. They're fine."

"You aren't scared?" Rosette gasped. Back in Miklin, people hated this sort of thing.

"Some are, but they don't come here. Chrono's very capable, and Nina is very kind. They have the blessed curse and it's not their faults. It can be very useful, and we don't mind it." Nina let out a wail, shaking her head, over and over, mouthing the word _no_, over and over, clinging to Chrono's shirt. Chrono looked sad, hugging her, but said nothing. Eventually, the girl stopped crying and he carried her to the bench while the others returned to their games. Quietly, Rosette walked over to the bench, half expecting someone to stop her, but no one did. Chrono looked up, and Nina left to play with he friends who accepted her back without question.

"She's ok?" Rosette asked as Chrono found their bags and called to Kino, Marie and Nina.

"Yeah. We're used to it now." he rubbed at his gold eye which was cloudyer than normal, a more yellow colour. His face was pale, the circles from lack of sleep suddenly blatant.

"What did she see-" as she asked, an image flitted trough her. A girl with blond hair, kneeling in a dark room, crying. The girl looked up, her face familiar. There was a body, someone was dead and-

"No." Chrono's voice was clear and sharp, drawing her backfrom the image. Wait! She though to him. She wanted to know what- "Rosette." Red like blood, gold like sun. Golden sacrifice of old in twilight clouds... Her shoulders were given a hard shake.

"What?" she shook her head to clear it, noticing it was Chrono who was clutching her shoulders. He let out the breath he'd been holding and sat back. Nina, Kino and Maria were all peeping over his shoulders, wide'eyes and frightened looking. For being used to this sort of thing happening in their 'family' they hadn't expected it from Rosette.

"Are you alright Rosette?" Kino squeaked. She realized she was on her knees in the grass.

"I-Yes-what happen-" Chrono put a finger over her lips.

"I think it's time we headed home." he said, his voice surprisingly steady. "You three go get your things." the kids groaned but darted off. "What did you see?" he helped her up as she explained. He nodded grimly, waning the kids over.

"When we get home, Nina, I want you to go lye down. You too Rosette." he sounded stern, fatherly. Rosette had no intention of argueing. The image had left her witha hell of a headache. As soon as they got home, Rosette did as Chrono suggested, falling asleep as soon as she dropping into bed, glad for the relief. Chrono however, had much to do despite his own pounding head...

A/N: What? Rosette having visions? Sorry Rosette, you aren't finished yet so pack some pain killers. As for Chrono...? Dunno. I do know that next chapter takes place on Monday, and will be the start of the next story arch...wahaha. R&R and thanks for reading!


	11. Playing Around

A/N: Heh. Every time I write that (A/N) I keep going to write "ano ne". I don't know why. Well, here it is, chapter eleven. (Eek!) This story is really long, but it isn't too bad. The longest story I wrote and never finished was 112 pages. (Hand written) I never did finish it for the reason I now know the term for- lack of plot. Heh. 112 pages of plot less trash. Or my first comic. I gave up after 200 pages- am I insane or what? Anyway, the thing to know is I was in 4th grade then, and it was 6 years ago. I'm much better at finishing stories now, so this will be finished if it takes twenty years! Actually, I'm hoping to have it done before the end of summer holidays so I can start a new story at the beginning of level one. (Grade ten). Whatever. I'm blathering and I have a ton of writing to do, so here we go!

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade or any of the characters!

New Time, New Place, Chapter 11: Playing Around

_"She is awakening/"_

_"Then they will grow and mesh." The gold angel smiled._

_"They have not the time. She has the will but it needs knowledge. Everything is too late."_

_"But the boy also has a strong will, and knowledge. Some anyway. He can help them!"_

_"Sight can be more binding than blindness. His will is strong, but he will bend easily to help others regardless of effects on himself. He is too kind." The golden angel gave up trying to put in her hopeful comments and settled back to see how the fifth day would play out for two souls in a constant race with time._

Sunday Evening, after Chrono and company came home and Rosette went to bed.

Sassafras. Chrono covered a yawn as he stirred the vegetables he was frying. Tired... he brushed his bangs back, squinting in the dim light. He needed to change the bulb soon, he needed to cut his hair. Well, maybe the hair could wait...

"Hey Chrono!" Joshua breezed into the kitchen, grabbing an apple from the pile on the counter. "How was your weekend. Anything interesting happen?" Joshua had spent the weekend at Viede's cabin in Mobile. Fi came in, setting down a bag of groceries.

"Hello Chrono. Satella-"

"Hey Chrono!" Satella clacked in, depositing three bags on the table with the ones Azmaria staggered in with and pinching the overwhelmed boy's cheek.

"It smells good in here!" Az chirped before skipping upstairs.

"They bought the store out." Viede grumbled as he backed in with an armload. "Where do you want them?"

"ON the tables fine!" Chrono called, hooking the phone from the cradle as it rang. "Hello? #6 Bradford st., Chrono- oh! Hello- er, just a minute. JOSHUA! CAN YOU TURN THAT DOWN!" he yelled over the Deed song Joshua was blaring from the living room. Oh his aching head. "Yes, I'm sorry- oh yes, she's doing fine, I think- oh sassafras!" he scraped at the burnt peppers, tucking the phone under his cheek. "Yes, I'm making supper. -what? Oh. Stir fry. Chicken." he glanced at the table, calculating it's capacity and how much food he'd made.

"Uncle Chrono!" Marie wailed, racing into the kitchen and throwing herself at his legs, knocking him into the stove.

"Aug!" he child scampered back as Chrono darted to the sink and stuck his burned hand under the tap. Oh his pounding head. And he still had homework to do. Wearily, he squeezed his eyes shut. "Yes Mr. Remington," he said to his neighbour on the phone. "It's utter chaos here, but you can join us if you wish. Just bring some gauze wrap, we're out."

When Rosette woke up from her nap and came down, the others had already eaten and were laughing over some anime in the living room, except for Chrono, who was sitting on the back deck talking to Mr. Remington. Still nursing a headache, she took the plate of food Chrono had left for her and crawled back upstairs to bed.

"I'm gonna be late!" Rosette pelted down the hall to homeroom. It was her second day of school here, (Was it really only last Friday she started?) and she was late. It was garenteed that after waking up early since she got here that she'd oversleep today. She was blaming Chrono for this. The idiot hadn't called her this morning. Speak of the idiot...she skidded into her seat just as the bell rang, giving him a prod in the back as she did. He groaned and sat up, rubbing a bandaged hand over his eyes as Mr. Remington came in.

"Good morning everyone!" As usual, his cheery voice sparked groans. Well, you had to give him points for trying. "You all studied for your math test today, I'm sure." he said, smiling evilly and waving a thick sheaf of papers at them. "After that, our second math class will be spent in the gym, as there is a high school assembly." The class cheered. Assemblies meant a free period. She was about to say so to Chrono, but the teen had fallen asleep again. She started to poke his shoulder, but as she did he shifted, and his braid fell over one shoulder, revealing a patch of read under some stray strands. Intrigued, she blew the hairs aside and gasped. At the base of his skull was a knot of swollen red flesh. The skin looked burnt, painful, and there seemed to be bits of white poking through.

"Bone. Bone and bits of metal. The latter made her stomach twist in memory.

Rosette crept into the hall, cursing the soundproofed walls. She swatted at her dress and tucked her hair back behind her ears, clutching a book to her (flat) chest. She was going to see him today. That's why she brought the book.

Sassafras liked reading almost as much as he like her singing, but he swore he liked her singing much more. He had a nice voice too, but she'd been too shy to say so.

She would today though, she decided. She'd tell him after she gave him the book, her favourite one with musical notes on funny lines with words you could sing. she'd day he had a nice voice, almost as nice as he was.

"Auuuugggg" the scream caught her by surprise. In the soundproof building, no sound could carry, but this did. Heart pounding, Rosette ran to the sound, her stomach churning as she stopped by the familiar door. Unnerved but stubborn, she shoved open the door, the howls overpowering, the agony recognisable even to her pampered heart.

Sassafras was curled in a ball on the floor, hands clamped across his neck, sobbing as huge tremors ran through him.

_Stop! Stop it please! It hurts! STOP IT! _the words thudded into her head as she called to him, grabbing his arm. He'd looked at her then, but his eyes didn't see her, his hands leaving his neck to reveal a metal implant, freshly activated. The tears scalding his face were mixed with blood, blood from his eyes, his nose, his mouth. She'd screamed then, fled. She never went back.

Rosette shook herself, remorse in her heart. She'd been scared, yes, but she'd left him behind. She'd left him. Had he forgotten? Had he known she'd been there at all? Carefully, as not to attract Mr. Remington's attention, she gave Chrono's shoulder a small shake. "Chrono!" she hissed, barely noting the whispers behind her as Claire noticed.

"Mr. Remington!" she called, raising her hand and smirking at Rosette. "Chrono's sleeping in class!" Everyone turned, and Rosette blushed, removing her hand from Chrono's shoulder as he sat up, his face a brilliant red.

"Sorry sir!" he mumbled quickly, although Rosette had a feeling Mr. Remington had known the whole time and not said anything. Chrono gave his bandaged hand a quick scratch and scribbled at the test he'd fallen asleep over. Ah well. Rosette turned to her test, gulping.

She'd never even seen this stuff before. It was all multiple choice, luckily, so she just guessed at the questions and passed the test up with the rest when the bell rang for second period. The Rosette raced to the door, but stopped as it was already blocked. She turned for a moment, just in time to see Billy, a guy from the jock table and one of Claire's pack, give Chrono a shove, sending him tumbling into Claire, who pushed him away.

"Ew! Get away from me, D'Crusa!" she snarled, leaping away like he'd bitten her. "Get away, you- you freak! I don't want your type near-"

"Aw can it." Rosette looked around for the voice, then realized it was hers. She was going to stick up for Chrono? From Claire and her goons? It wasn't her business who picked on Chrono. He was just her landlord...Chrono yelped as Billy kicked him in the stomach. "_Lay off!_ Go stew yourselves." Rosette snarled. Damn right she was going to! He was her land lord, her classmate her frie- urk- her acquaintance and he had enough to deal with as it was. Glaring at Claire and Billy, she grabbed Chrono's arm and pulled him up. He stumbled against her, a hand rising to his neck. Rosette frowned. She'd seen him do that before. Did it hurt? She'd ask later.

Claire narrowed her eyes at them, calculating before stalking from the room, Billy at her heels. Rosette was halfway down the hall herself when she realized she was still holding Chrono's hand. She dropped it with a squeak. The pervert hadn't even said thank-you! She eyed him. His face was even redder than hers, rivalling the colour of the leaf she'd seen on the Canadian flag. Hiding her own pink face, she opened the door and they slipped into the gym.

"Consider it a thank you." she said before he could speak. "For all the times you helped me since I arrived." She touched the side of his neck, just under his ear, feeling as she did his pulse trembling under his pale skin. "And...consider it an apology for-"

"Will you two sit down!" Ms. Valentine growled from behind them.

"Yes ma'am!" Chrono pushed Rosette to the last to chairs in the student area and they sat down.

"Where were you two?" Joshua asked, turning around in his seat in the next row. "Claire seemed pretty mad when she came in." Rosette blushed and Joshua looked worried. "You didn't do anything, did you?" His eyes flitted to Chrono. "She's got too much pride and she's a malicious shrew to-"

"AHEM." Ms. Valentine tapped Joshua's shoulder. He turned around, facing the stage where Mr. Maloney, the principal, was standing.

"Good morning. Those of you who attended our dance know that this assembly is about the new acting program in Magdalen high, which is required for students to pass with art credits. This will be our first year with this program, and we're the first school to have it. Thus, to make it a proper course welcome, we're starting big. But don't let me bore you with the details, here's Ms. Rizel Fogwell of the Theatrical Board to speak with you about the play, "Not So Good, Not So Evil", and give you some of the most exciting information." On cue, Rizel clacked onto the stage in another form fitting dress. Rosette rolled her eyes as all the guys whistled, with the exception of Chrono, who barely even seemed to notice the woman.

Was Claire right about Chrono's likings? It wasn't any of her business, but she had to wonder. The other guys were shifting around nervously, some even hiding nosebleeds, but Chrono- he caught her watching him and smiled, nodding towards the stage.

"She's not my type." He said lightly, and Rosette thought she saw him give her a glance over before looking away. Nah. She resumed watching the stage where Rizel had sauntered up to the podeum.

"Hello boys." she cooed. "And girls." she tossed back her dark hair. "I'm Rizell Fogwell, the leader of the Theatrical Board of St. John's school system. Your school is the first to be involved in this program, and we intend to make it a _big_ first. The school's play is a musical called "Not So Good, Not So Evil", which will be shown on national tv." The students sat up with interest. "Yes, yes, tv. Anyways, this is a big affair, and we wanted to get this program out there. So, to help with that, we've brough in a couple interesting people to help out with the play, which is, by the way, about a nun," The students groaned. A nun? Boring! "who's an exorsist. She hunts demons with her partner." This got their attention. Demon hunting?

"Was her partner another nun?" someone asked. Rizel grinned.

"No, and this is an interesting facet. The nun's partner was a _demon_. A high class one, one who could take human form." Rizel leaned forward. "Our young nun, my friends, falls in love with her partner, even though he's a demon." Rosette scowled. Rizel's words had annoyed her for some reason.

"Who care's if he was a demon!" she muttered. "A demon who's in love with an exorcist nun. Bet that worked...well..." Her throut had clogged up. What the heck? She wasn't a sentimental person, and this story was all bull. She wiped her eyes, jumping as Chrono nudged her arm and handed her a tissue without looking at her.

"Enough on the story!" Rizel exclaimed. "Your language teachers will explain that later, in class, well as the course requirements. You will be graded, I'm afraid, but whatever! Let's introduce our guests! First, Ms. Satella Harvenhiet! She'll be our fashion consultent as-besides being a model and fashion designer- she is an expert on clothing from the 1920's, the time the play takes place!" (I wonder why...Hmm. And this isn't Satella from the boarding house!--A/N)

Rosette stared at the woman who walked out onto the stage. Like Rizel, the woman had a tight, form fitting dress, but unlike

all the times Rosette had seen her in pictures, she wasn't smiling. In fact, she looked almost remorsful. For a moment, she could swear Ms. Harvenhiet's eyes met hers and widened in surprise, but she wasn't sure. Rosette shook her head. She looked familiar, but then, she'd seen Ms. Harvenhiet's pictures tonnes of times. Whatever.

Ms. Harventhiet stood on the stage and looked around at the students.

"Hello to you all." she said stiffly. "You all know who I am, and I hope that soon I'll know who some of you are. This play," she paused, as if clearing her throut. "means a great deal to m-me. I look forward to designing the outfits for all the people who will be acting in the play, and I'll also be acting as a consultant for the rest of the show. This is a big production, and I hope we all enjoy this." Once again, Rosette felt like the woman's eyes were in her direction again, but this time she was looking at Chrono. Why? Rosette frowned. She had to be imagining it!

She wasn't. The model, even as she spoke about her part and how the clothing would be designed, kept glancing at them. It was his hair. Rosette figured. Chrono and Az were the only two in the school with odd hair colour, and Az wasn't around.

"Now then," Rizel was talking again. "Your director is a good friend of mine, and you'll probably recognise him- MR. AION CASTOR!" The girls in the room let out a earsplitting round of squealing cheers as the handsome man walked onto the stage, waving and smiling. Rosette felt Chrono stiffen beside her.

"Aion!"

A/N: Dundundaa! Yep, there it is! Aion is the director and they're stuck with him! Well, that's chapter 11 and I'll get chapter 12 out when I can. Thank you to all the people who've given me reviews: I love you, you rock! Please r&r! Thank you


	12. No Way in Time

A/N: Hello, and welcome to chapter 12 of New Time, New Place. This is the author of the fanfic, Sneko-chan speaking. Pleased to have you along. We found out in the last chapter that Chrono's elder brother Aion, will be directing the school's play. Uh oh. The play is called Not So Good, Not so Evil, and is part of the schools program...enough with the freaky narration!

Hi, I'm Sneko, and I'm happy to have people reading. Please review when you're finished the chapter, I really enjoy reading them, and it boosts my spirits because my comic doesn't sell...sigh. But enough about me! Thank you to all the people who reviewed chapter 11 and all the other chapters. I love you!

Disclaimer: You know, I know, the name's Sneko-chan, I don't own Chrono Crusade.

Chapter 12:

_"Damn it!" The golden angel cried, winching as the grey glowered at her. "Sorry, sir. I didn't mean to curse." But she couldn't help it. The rat had shown his dirty face, and he deserved to go to hell! He'd killed her, after all. Years back, another life, yes, but he'd still killed her. Even though she knew that that's what her purpose on earth'd been, to open a demon's heart, she still hated to platinum, demon souled man. The womanizing-_

_"That's enough." Grey said sternly. The gold angel lowered her head. She'd forgotten he could read her thoughts. Darn him. She blushed, kicking herself mentally. She had to get used to this angel! He was worse than Chrono had been!_

"Aion!" Chrono sank lower in his seat, his head dropping to his knees. Aion the director of the play he had to do something with? Well, so long as he didn't audition, that would be fine. Maybe he could help with the set. Or the music. Anything but have to be near Aion. But what about Rosette? He turned his head to look at the girl, as slightly as he could so she wouldn't notice him looking. Would she try out? She could probably make it. He'd have to stick close to stage if she did. He couldn't let Aion pull any of his _tricks _on her. And he just might. Simply because she was close to him. Sassafras and Peppercorns! Once again he was putting her in danger.

Once again? Where had that come from? He shook his head. Not now! He snapped at the little nagging feeling in his head. He didn't need his power creeping up on him in a place like this. There were too many people. And unlike the ones at the park, these ones weren't so understanding.

"Chrono!" Someone gave him a hard whack on the head.

"Ow!" He sat up and glared at Rosette, who still had a hand poised over him. She relaxed slightly, then pointed to the other end of the gym where the students were clustered around Aion and Satella.

"They said it was recess. Hey!" Chrono had leapt up and was at the door. "Where are you off to in such a hurry!" she scrambled after him into the hall. That stupid idiot! He was probably running away so he wouldn't have to face Aion.

"Ms. Valentine? You were looking for me?" Chrono ran up to the stern science teacher, swallowing and trying to tuck his hair back into its braid. The teacher looked surprised, for she'd said nothing to anyone about looking for him. She cleared her throat.

'Mr. D'Crusa. You have a phone call in the office. The pa is down, that's all. You may want to hurry." Chrono nodded, scurrying down the hall and leaving Rosette with the teacher. "Rosette." Ms. Valentine turned to her, polishing her tiny spectacles on her dark, conservative dress. "How our you finding it here? I understand you're staying with Mr. D'Crusa." Rosette swallowed back a rude retort at the way Ms. Valentine said D'Crusa. The way she said it, you wouldn't know that he wasn't some sort of criminal.

"It's crazy here," she said instead. "It's crazy, but not impossible." she ducked into the bathroom, and the teacher didn't follow. "Whew." Rosette frowned at herself in the mirror, mimicking Ms. Valentine. Stupid old hag. She decided. No wonder Chrono was afraid of her. Luckily, they didn't have science today. Just language arts and French. French. Now that was something to worry about. Besides. For once, she wanted to go to language. She was halfway interested about the play, and they were supposed to get copies of the script and music in class. Most people, herself included, were thinking of trying out, for the play took a good many characters, and most who weren't characters would have to be extras.

As Rizel had said, they intended to make a big production out of it.

A bigger production then they realized, she noted as she sat down in room 203, watching Ms. Gilliam unload scripts onto her desk and begin passing them out. She was handed two.

"Would you give that to Mr. D'Crusa, Rosette? He had to leave early, and we have to start going over the play today. Also, would you let him copy your notes? He's a very good note taker, you know, very precise and neat. I hope your notes are good." The woman nattered before moving to Roy.

Roy. She hadn't spoken to him, and she had no intention of doing so. Snorting, she put her feet up on Chrono's empty desk, opened the script to the list of characters and gasped, nearly dropping the script. She shook her head and looked again at the ornate list. It was quite long, but, she didn't register past the first two names.

_Rosette Christopher: a nun and exorcist._

_Chrono the Sinner: a demon outcasted from hell due to a crime he committed. He is Rosette's partner, under a contract._

Rosette gulped, clamping her hand over her mouth. All around her, people were talking excitedly.

"Rosette and Chrono." Roy said, leaning forward. "Heh. That's funny, but you'll have a tough time once people figure it out."

"So? I doubt Chrono would get the lead, even if he did try out. He wouldn't want to."

"I might. There's a kissing scene." Rosette nearly gagged.

"Well, you better hope Nancy gets the part of Rosette!" she snarled, turning around. Roy winched. Nervously, he flipped the pages of his script before meeting her furious eyes.

"Oh. About that." he ran his fingers through his hair. "I didn't know you were thinking of it like a date. If I had-"

"Whatever." Rosette sniffed, holding up her script. "I have work to do." She opened the script again, but suddenly, she was reluctant to read it. Something in there was important, and she really didn't want to know. Life was too crazy right now for anymore weirdness. Still, the teacher was giving her a get-back-to-work glare, so she turned her eyes to the script.

_Aion the Sinner: Chrono's old best friend and now his greatest enemy_.

This was getting too weird. Much too weird... she was all too happy when lunch came and she could join the others in the cafeteria.

"Rosette! Is that weird or what!" Joshua said, a grin on his face. "We've got the same names as the people in the play! Joshua is Rosette's missing brother." he tossed an arm around her shoulders and Fi bristled. "Come on sis!" They sat with the others, the same table as they had on Friday.

"The story is so stupid." Satella grumbled. "I mean, a nun and a demon? Aren't demons evil? They don't have feelings!"

"Chrono the sinner did. That's why he was so different than the other demons." they all turned in surprise to Azmaria, who'd been quietly poking at her food with her fork.

"Whaddya mean Az?" Satella asked, popping a tomato from her salad into her mouth. "It's just a stupid story." Azmaria shook her head.

"No, it isn't." she zipped up her lunch bag and pushed it to the side. "Chrono, Rosette and all of them, they all existed. Didn't you see the print of the picture of them? It's in the script."

"Aw, but pictures can be fake!" Satella said, waving her hand.

"This one isn't." Azmaria pulled a cracked frame from her bag and held it up. "My great-grandmother, Azmaria Hendric, knew Rosette and Chrono, Joshua and Satella. That's her in the picture." Rosette forced herself to look at the image.

"You look just like her. Only she was younger than you here."

"Forget Az! Looks run in the family. Look at the nun, Rosette! And the guy!" Joshua sputtered. Rosette looked, her stomach twisting.

Impossible. The girl in the picture looked exactly like her. She shook her head.

"Az, that has to be a fake."

"Well it isn't." they looked up as someone joined them. Ms. Harvenhiet smiled sadly at Rosette. "You really do look like her. Amazing." she sat down, ignoring the calls from other tables. Rosette narrowed her eyes, glaring at the woman.

'And how would you know that? Where you there?"

"As a matter of fact," Az said softly. "She was. She- well, what happened in the play actually happened, Rosette." Ms. Harvenhiet went white.

"Your name _isn't _really Rosette, is it?" she whispered. Rosette nodded.

"Yeah, it is." the woman looked stunned. Absolutely shocked.

"They brought you back." she whispered. Rosette leaned over and tapped her on the head.

"You in there, Ms. Harvenhiet? Y'are? Well listen up! My name's Rosette, yeah, but I have no idea about the 1920's I am not a nun, and I don't intend to be. I don't have a brother, and I don't have a demonic partner, and even if I did, I wouldn't be stupid enough to fall in love with him."

"Rosette wasn't stupid for loving Chrono!" Ms. Harvenhiet hissed furiously. "And he wasn't for loving her."

"I still can't believe that something like that could happen." Satella grumbled. "I really don't."

"I think it's true." Fi said softly. She avoided Ms. Harvenhiet's eyes, staying close to Joshua. "I..." she blushed. "Something's can't be denied." Ms. Harvenhiet smiled sadly in agreement.

"Hey Rosette." she said suddenly. "Where's the guy you sat with in the gym. I saw him too." Rosette looked down at the picture still in her hand, studying the boy the nun had her arm around.

"He's not here. He went home. Something about a phone call."

"Oh." Ms. Harvenhiet sounded disappointed. "I wanted to see him again. I think he looks different than he used to. A little older." Rosette jumped to her feet.

"Chrono D'Crusa is _not_ the Chrono you think he is. He isn't a demon, he's got nothing to do with you. He's just a slightly abnormal guy with to many responsibilities, and he's got nothing to do with you! He's got enough to worry about with Nina and the others and-"

"You two have kids? Aren't you a little young?' Ms. Harvenhiet said, a wicked gleam in her eyes. "Well, it only makes sense, you not being a nun anymore." A vein began to throb in Rosette's head, and before anyone could stop her, she grabbed Ms. Harvenhiet's collar.

"I am NOT in that sort of relationship with him. we're not even friends. He's just my landlord, and he happens to be in my class. We are not the people you seem to think we are, we have nothing to do with you other than the fact you're the clothing consultant for our play. Do NOT think there is anything between_ him_ and me, because I would never... arg!" she stormed from the room. Azmaria sighed.

"Well, you couldn't really expect her to believe you." she said to Ms. Harvenhiet. The woman shrugged.

"I guess not. Still, I'm looking forward to meeting Chrono D'Crusa." she smiled, rubbing her hands together. "He won't be as cute as he used to be, seeing as he's a little older, but hey. I'm not picky." Joshua and Fi looked somewhat green. This woman...

"Where are you staying?" Joshua finally managed to squeak behind his rapidly rising lunch. Ms. Harvenhiet stood, tossing her long red hair.

"Um...I'm staying in a room at a boarding house here in St. John's. Number 6..." the rest of the tables occupants sweat dropped.

Life was about to get a whole lot crazier at #6 Bradford, and not just because they had two people with the same name staying there.

"Chrono you down here?" Rosette called, creeping through the shadows of the lower apartment. Where was he? It was past six, and everyone was starving- including Ms. Harvenhiet. Why hadn't he warned them she was coming to stay? And on the same floor as herself and the other girls. _Why?_ Why did she have to get stuck with these people? Nevously, Rosette looked around the dark hall, and at the door ahead of her. She hadn't been in this room. Would he mind? Well, she had to put the script somewhere, and she didn't want to leave it lying about. If it weren't for the fact it had to do with school, she would've had nothing to do with it. Still. She wanted to try out. She wasn't Rosette the nun, but maybe she could play one of the villins. that'd be fun. Or she coud delibratly mess up...holy crap. She stopped short, staring around the tiny room. It was barely bigger than a closet, you could barely move, even though the only funiture was a bookcase, two milk cartens forming a desk, and a sleeping bag. The book case held stacks of clothes and school books, but not much else. Pens, exercise books, binders. As she stepped over to the desk, the door swung closed behind her with a bang, making her jump, especially when she saw what looked like a person standing behind it.

"Aiii-oh." she stopped, laughing at herself.

A guitar. She set the script down on Chrono's 'desk', glancing at the pile of papers. They were all music, sheet music, neatly writen out but much scribbled over, like someone was working out a song. Or many songs, she noted, flipping through the pages. There was sheet after sheet, all written in the same fashion. He'd been busy, that was for sure. She put down the papers, fingering the guitar. It was nice, a good quality one that was well played but well kept. Well. This wasn't something she expected to- she spotted a piece of paper on the floor. She'd dropped one. Quickly, she picked it up. It was a letter, with several thick sheets attatched, dated from two years ago. Looking to the door to make sure no one was looking, she sat on the sleeping bag and started on the letter.

"Mr. D'Crusa. Thank-you for the samples you sent in. The songs were well written, with good feeling and ..." it went on, talking about whatever Chrono had sent in. Whatever it was, he'd done well. She flipped the page, looking at the document written in small black font. She recognised the name at the top, Fieldway records. She choked, reading over the first few lines once, twice, three times before she realized what she was looking at.

It was a contract, for one of the biggest record companies in North America.

"What are you doing here!"

A/N: Busted! Ah well. Now dundada! This chapter was fun to write, but I like writing about how Chrono and Rosette interact. But why was Chrono called away from school? I don't know yet. I just wanted him out of class. And soon come the auditions. Will Rosette be able to convince her now stage shy landlord to try out? Find out eventually in New Time New Place! Dundundaaa! Hehe. I've wanted to do something like that for awhile. Please r&r, thank you!


	13. Ghosts and Dreams

A/N: Hello, It's chapter thirteen of New time, New Place, and I'm totally baffled at how this got so long. I should've just written Puppy Love. I will, but not now. I have this story to finish, don't I? I don't want to start another, otherwise, I might get them mixed up, because it's hard enough writing this and drawing my comic. Besides, I wouldn't update as quickly. Eek! So here we are, Rosette went into Chrono's room to deliver his script, found out his room sucked, and discovered a contract for a major record company. Unfortunately, Chrono finds her... yay! Also, what will happen when Ms. Harvenhiet meets Chrono? And for those who asked: yes, I've read the manga. I can't figure out how you think I didn't especially will the prologue, but anyway, chapter 13!

Disclaimer: I don't own it!

Chapter 13: Dreams Lost

"_Things may move ahead somewhat now!" The gold angel chirped, pulling back her long blonde hair. "Satella Harvenhiet knew them before. This is perfect!" The grey angel snorted._

_"Youth. This will only make things worse. With this pressure, the girl will fight it. And know that she knows about his dream, he will do whatever he can to not have anything to do with it." The gold angel clenched her fists. This was stupid! If they loved each other, they would make it work. She would make them work. She hadn't died the past two lifetimes for it to fail again!_

"What are you doing in here?" Rosette leapt up with a shriek, dropping the letter and staring at the figure in the doorway. Chrono sighed and came in, dropping his already cast-off shirt into the basket on the bottom shelf. His hair hung down around his shoulders and back, released from it's braid.

"I was d-dropping off your script, because you never came back to class." She said, trying to sound accusing. She had a feeling she was failing miserably, but she couldn't help it. She was too busy staring at his thin but strong looking chest. He really was well built. Just skinny. Give him a year to fill out... she glanced at his face. It was in that between child and teenage stage, still a tiny bit round, but mostly angular. Yeah, give him a year...WHAT THE HELL WAS SHE THINKING! Shaking her head she stood. Whatever! She was going home for Christmas, and she was leaving at the end of the school year. Once she left then, she would never come back here, not even as a tourist!

"Thank you for the script." Chrono said, all the anger drained out of his voice. He sounded exhausted, but he walked over to the shelf and pulled down a black thin black sleevless shirt, tugging it over his head, followed by one of his usual, shapeless, ugly sweaters. Did he try to make himself look bad or what? "Sorry for yelling." Chrono turned to her, running a brush through his hair and braiding it. "Kino..." he sighed, looking worn and tired.

"What happened? You missed a ton of stuff in class, and wait 'til you hear about what the play-"

"I know about the play." his eyes landed on the paper she was holding. "And I'm sorry about disappearing. Kino got into a fight today, after people started making fun of Nina." He took the paper from her and tossed it on the desk. "They're spending tonight at Mr. Remington's, because Shader can't come." he held up a wrinkled pair of black pants, then tossed them aside and finding a neater pair. "Hang on a minute. I'll be up to cook supper." he called from inside the bathroom. He came out, dressed in baggy clothes. Not very nice looking. Why did he? She grabbed his arm before he could get away.

"Why didn't you take the contract." she asked. "You could've been famous, you wouldn't have to live in the basement of your own house. Why? You like music, and you've got talent-"

"Sometimes, you have to drop dreams, just as you can reach them. It's no big...deal." he looked away.

"Yes it was. Hardly anyone makes it past their-"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER ANYMORE! That was a long time ago. I have more important things to worry about, like the care of three children, keeping them healthy and-" he stopped, his face pained. "It doesn't matter. That was years ago. And it wasn't me. It was Crusander they wanted. Not me."

"But you are Crusander! That's just an alias."

"An alternate persona. He's brave and strong. I'm a coward. Anyway, I have to go. I'm not a singer anymore, and there isn't time for that now."

"But maybe someday-"

"For some people, there isn't a someday." Chrono spat. Turning on his heel, he stormed upstairs. For a moment, Rosette stood there. That stupid, self pitying, quitting... sure he had to look after the kids. But lots of singers had children. Tons of them. Why would he let that change his plans? Rosette flew up the stairs, teeth clenched and words brewing. He was going to answer some friggin' questions, whether he wanted to or not! He had no business not telling her. Stupid idiot, dropping hints left and right, leaving bits of his life out for others to walk all over. He shouldn't be so secretive when he'd had it coming, the dolt. She banged into the kitchen and stalked up to the counter, snatching the potato peeler from the drawer and starting in on the pile he hadn't worked on yet. Chrono raised an eyebrow, but he moved over and started chopping the potatoes into little pieces.

"Are you going to tell me why you gave up singing." Rosette asked. Chrono dumped the bowl of chopped potatoes on a tray, salting them and sliding it into the oven.

"Don't have the gift of subtlety, do you?" he said wryly, a smile returning to his face. He started chopping lettuce, reaching periodically to push escaped hairs back into his braid. "And no, I'm not. It's none of anyone's business, what I wanted to do with my life. Pass over a the diakon, will you?" she looked around, puzzled until he pointed out the giant white vegetable.

"Why not?" she handed him the diakon, but didn't let go, forcing him to meet her eyes. "I thought friends were supposed to talk about that sort of thing. No secrets." She let go of the diakon. Ha! she crowed. Beat that, stupid! Chrono sighed, slowly chopping, but seeming to be thinking of a good answer.

"I...am not one who likes to surround himself with false friends. I have no respect for those people. I pity them," he added the diakon to the salad. "But I have no respect for them. Nor do I have respect for people who use others to get what they want. If you want something, reach for it so long as you aren't hurting others to get it but..." he shook his head. "I'm off topic. Friends. Since when are we friends?" he asked softly. "Is that something you mean, or are you just tossing it out there to find out what you want?" he put the salad and dressing on the table. "Could you get the dressing from the fridge? And even friends don't know everything about each other. Even the best of friends have things they don't tell each other until the time is right. A good friend can sense when to and when not to talk, because some things hurt to talk about." He pulled on oven mitts and pulled the tray from the stove.

"So you didn't want to give up music. Anyways, if you did, you wouldn't be playing backup at Austy's, or still have your guitar." Chrono groaned and looked at the ceiling.

"Subtly it _not _your strong point. Rosette," he grumbled. "And I told you, that was Crusander."

"Don't be such a child! You are Crusander!"

"I am, but I'm not. He's a persona I adopted back in the labs." Rosette stilled for a second. The labs? Christov labs? "You see? You don't like the fact you had anything to do with them, do you?"

"No, but I don't care. Keep talking."

"Why? There isn't anything to tell. I was frightened and hurting and I wasn't strong enough to handle it. I thought I would die there. It didn't help knowing that my folks wouldn't care. No one would. Except maybe Shader. She used to visit me, and she used to find excuses to stop the tests early. But she wasn't there that day." he expression clouded. "It was just after she'd been fired. I don't really remember much, I wasn't thinking straight. They'd just started a new test, the one with the implant." he shuddered, his voice dropping so low she could barely hear it. "I can't remember what it was supposed to do. Someone explained it, but I couldn't think. All I know was it hurt. Fire along my spine, I was sure it would swallow me completely. I couldn't move." Rosette stared. Chrono's eyes had gone glassy, deep in a memory she suddenly realized she had no right to dredge up. Damn. "I thought I would die." He continued. "Then, it was so strange, like something had opened, and I felt stronger. I could fight it off. My name is Crusander. That was what the strength said, because it was like someone else had taken me over. He was sad, I was hurt. A fine pair we made. Now, whenever I'm scared, I try to be him. I haven't heard him speak, but I try to mirror his strength." he shook himself, coming back to the present. Rosette put the plates she was carrying onto the table.

"Are you sure he said 'Crusander'? Maybe he gave you something different as a name, but you don't remember." Chrono shrugged.

"Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. I don't know." he rubbed a hand over his face. "Anyways, supper's ready." Instantly the room was full of the hungry boarders. Rosette didn't stop Chrono as he headed for the basement but- "Gyaaa!"

"Chrono D'Crusa!" Ms. Harvenhiet squealed, grabbing him and pulling him into a hug. "Ooh! Not quite so cute 'cuz you're older, but not so old you aren't adorable! Uwah!" Chrono struggled, trying to free himself from the hug, but it didn't seem to do any good.

"Hey, hey, hey! Let him go!" Rosette snapped, hauling the woman back and bonking her on the head. "You have no reason to do that! He's not the Chrono you think he is!" Ms. Harvenhiet pouted.

"You're just as mean as ever! I have as much right as anyone to hug him! As it is, I can't see why you aren't doing it all the time." Rosette's cheeks burst into flame, and with a snarl she lept onto the woman and gave her a noogie. (Where had that come from). Everyone in the room stared in stunned silence. Rosette odviously wasn't one to be star struck. In the end, it was Chrono who rescued Ms. Harvehiet from Rosette, feeling a familiar annoyance/amusmant he'd been feeling recently.

"Forget it Rosette. Let's eat." Rosette perked up. Food? SHe shoved the others out of the way and seated herself at the table, taking a huge plateful. To her disapointment, Chrono filled a plate for himself but went into the basement to eat. On the other hand, she decided, after watching Fi and Satella pull Ms. Harvenhiet off a much blushing Joshua, maybe he had the right idea. Besides, she thought as she headed down the steps. She had to practice. The auditions would be starting soon, and she was going to be ready to snag a good part. And, like it or not, Chrono was going to help her.

A/N: Yeah, I know. Stupid chapter. I needed it though, mainly for hinting's sake. Anyways, I'll try to have a more exciting chapter next time. After all, (bwahaha) what will happen when the auditions start up. And when the school meets their new music tecky? Dundun daaa! I'm doing my best so read and review! Thank you!


	14. Will You be our Aunt?

A/N: Hi! Sorry this chapter took so long to get out. Maybe it wasn't so long, but it feels like it...I'm sooooo tired and I still have work today...heh. Whatever. I have a story to write. Um...blushes. I have another fanfic. I'd like to try writing, but if I do, that will mean more time between chapters. Is that ok? Should I do that, or just work on this one? Some advice would help. I guess it depends on if you like the story. I hope you do. Anyway, let's go, chapter 14. (Again, how in highers did it get this long?)

New Time, New Place, chapter 14

_He's still stubborn. The golden angel smiled as the boy went into the basement. That was good. Stubborn was better than the obedience he'd felt before. He really did take on too much. She took a glance at Grey. Stupid, pessimistic old bird. Still. She would put up with him because it meant she could watch her little 'human'. Poor guy. No matter what form he was in, his soul..._

Rosette charged down the stairs. Well, he would know she was coming, but then, that was better then catching him by surprise again. Heck, they'd been lucky. What if he'd walked in on her in the bathroom, or vice versa. That would've been bad. Stupid giving up person! She stopped, peeking into his room. Nope. Not there. Where could he be? There were only what? five rooms down here?

"I'm in the living room." Rosette bristled. He sounded frikin' amused. Stupid high brow...he was sitting on the floor, eating, flipping through a phonebook while checking classifieds in the paper.

"What are you doing?" she asked, putting her plate on the table and settling on the floor next to him, purposely putting herself closer than necessary.

"Looking for some jobs." he said, moving away from her. Well, she'd figured he would. Still, she grinned to herself. Maybe a little blackmail would get him to help her.

"You have two. Why do you need another? Paying for an addiction?" she sidled up to him as she said it and he stiffened noticeably, his eyes widening slightly.

"You might say that." he closed the phone book and handed her a piece of paper.

"What's this?" he stood, smiling mischievously.

"Your job search list." Chrono snagged his helmet off the hook, taking his coat and heading for the door as Rosette let out a squawk off shock.

"A JOB! Why do I need a job?" Chrono turned, hand on the door.

"Part of the project. You have to pay rent." she followed him out to his motorcycle. What the heck? She could just ask her parents- drat. Suddenly she remembered the rule sheet her parents had read with her before signing her up. They could help with money only in emergencies.

"Well then, I'll get a job at Austy's." she said resolutely. Chrono actually blanched. He caught her shoulders, giving them a small shake.

"The hours you'd be working are too late. You'll never be able to keep awake in class and it's not as bad as some but..."

"You're one to talk! You fell asleep!" he blushed.

"I don't normally. It's only because I've had less sleep then normal." he slid onto the bike, but Rosette noticed his hands were trembling. Oh. She'd hit something.

"And why's that?" she cooed. His cheeks turned an amazing pink. Odd. Whatever it was sure embarrassed him. _Good_. That gave her an advantage.

"It isn't any of your business! Go practice for your play!" with that he shot away, not even sparing her a glance, but the tone in his voice had changed. He'd squeaked! Laughing, she wandered back into the house. Oh yes. This would be good. Auditions started soon. She'd practice, but she was going to get Chrono to help her. Oh he would, or she would nag him day and night. If he didn't, she wouldn't let him forget it.

She wanted him to help her practice. Chrono hung his coat on his chair, winching as it brushed a new bruise. It was a good thing looks weren't something he prided himself on, he thought with a smile as he caught sight of himself in the hall mirror. Oh yes, he was in bad shape tonight. And tired. But he was used to that. He could handle tired. What he couldn't handle was the dreams. _And why's that?_ Oh she'd been interested then. She knew she'd found something. He chuckled. She was like an open book for him, at least when it came to her plots. But then, her face was very expressive. Very pretty for that matter. He'd always though so.

He shouldn't think like that, like this. Rosette was someone beyond his reach. When he was younger, in the labs, he had liked her, even had a crush on her. Pity for him he still did. There was no time for that sort of thing. None. How long did he have left anyway? Ha glanced at the calendar. September 25. Not much. A few months, tops.

He had no right to feel this way, to put her in danger like this. Just being near him, not even liking him, he was still affecting her sensitivity to the other field. He couldn't allow that to happen. The people who cared for him ended up hurt, and he hated that. However. His picked up the script he'd slipped into his bag before she came down earlier that evening. He'd brought it with him, read it during the slow times. She wanted him to help her with the play. The one his brother was directing. Chrono blinked in surprise, realizing he was holding his guitar. Did he want to?

No. That was in his head. He wanted nothing to do with Aion. But yes was starting to override it. What if Aion made a move for her? Rosette was none of his concern, in that sense. He had no claim on her, except that she lived in his house, knew things he'd never told anyone -he didn't want to think about what things he'd told her. She didn't think it was much, but it was getting to the point he was beginning to feel naked around her, and he didn't like that one little bit- and he cared about her safety. She knew what Aion did, to some extent. Chrono just wasn't sure he'd be able to look after a child sired by Aion but mothered by Rosette- providing he was still alive then. Nine months…not sure there. He'd never be able too anyway. He had a feeling Aion knew that. That meant Rosette was in danger.

Chrono pursed his lips, fingers finding chords. He needed sleep.

He needed music more.

Chrono had discovered years ago that music was freeing. He'd discovered it could take his emotions and change them with an ease only Rosette could beat. No, music was something special to him. Rosette was right, he hadn't wanted to give it up. It hurt every time he looked at the contract. So much so, he'd hidden it from himself, along with his music, swearing never to play again. He played back up at Austy's as Crusander, just to keep the older self close. But it was still agony to see the contract again. He hadn't realized it was with the music he'd pulled the other day, hadn't known Rosette would find it.

For seeing the future, his gift was pretty useless when it came to what it showed him. He wished she didn't know, but what was done was done. He would help her practice because she wanted him too, she wanted to be in the play, wanted to do something.

Now all he had to do was practice control of how close they got.

Tuesday, 5:31 pm

"Chrono!" Rosette came into the house. She'd done it! She'd gone to one of the places on his list today after school and had gotten hired. Score one for blonde. She worked part time, because that's she had school, but she still would have time to practice and do homework. She would be working at the Roll Cafe, across the street from Prologue. Rosette grinned to herself. Oh yes. She'd always be nearby, close by, just to bug him. "Chrono!" she yelled, striding into the kitchen. There was a pot on the stove, which she sniffed, deciding it smelled alright before going downstairs. She stepped into the hallway, only to be hit by a freight train.

"Rosette!" Kino wrapped his arms around her legs, grinning up at her. "I lost a tooth!" he cheered, pointing to a gap in his teeth. "Benny hit me, and I lost a tooth! I wanted to show you right away, but we were over at Mr. Remington's! Where were you? Did you hear about my fight? You wanna hear? Uncle Chrono says it's bad, because people get hurt, and in some fighting people die, but I think he's being a coward! He wouldn't know how to fight, he's too scared. I think people try to fight him though, 'cuz he always comes home from work with bruises on his face. Did you know that? And-"

"Kino." Marie stood in the doorway of her room, arms crossed, cool eyed. "That's enough. Uncle Chrono wouldn't like it." she gave Rosette a dark glare, then went back into her room, ignoring Kino's stuck out tongue. What a little brat, Rosette decided. Marie was the most annoying child she'd ever met. How did Chrono look after these kids?

"Marie is jealous." Rosette turned to see Nina behind her, dislodging Kino as she did. Nina smiled weakly. "She's jealous because Uncle Chrono spends time with you too. She thinks he should spend more time with us." she touched Rosette's arm. "She'll understand eventually, but..." Nina looked sad. "But he needs a friend like you." Rosette gulped, meeting Nina's pleading gaze. "Uncle Chrono is stubborn. He has to be, to keep pushing like he does. But that won't last forever." the child's voice had dropped to a whisper. "He-" she glanced towards her uncle's room, drawing Rosette's gaze with her. "I'm afraid Aunt Rosette."

_Aunt Rosette?_ The child had called her an aunt?

"Nina, I'm just one of Chrono's boarders. I'm not your-"

"You will be!" Nina said, sounding like a five year old again. Rosette was relieved. It scared her somewhat when she talked to Nina, because she felt the girl, eleven years younger, knew more about life then she did. "You like Uncle Chrono, and he likes you. I like you too, and so does Kino, and even Marie! You could be our Aunt and be like our mommy, just like Uncle Chrono is like our Daddy." Rosette looked at the little face that peered at her with imploring eyes. Nina wanted a mother. Badly. Rosette bit her lip, kneeling down.

"Nina, I can't be your Aunt, or your mother. Chrono and I-well-we aren't even that good friends yet."

"But you're getting better. And he likes you! He even talks about you in his sleep! He's only pushing you away to-"

"Nina." Chrono stepped out of his room and scooped up the child. "Nina, Nina, Nina." he bounced her a little, making her giggle. "What are you up to, scamp?" Nina stopped giggling and pouted.

"I wanted Rosette to be our Aunt and Mommy, just like you're our Uncle and Daddy!" Nina burst into tears, burying her face in Chrono's sweater. "Why can't I have a Mommy or Daddy?" Chrono looked stricken. He carried Nina into her room, and Rosette saw him sit down with her, talking to her. _Why can't I have a Mommy or Daddy?_ Rosette slowly climbed the stairs.

"Wait." Marie came out of her room and scowled up the stairs at her. "You just going to leave? You got Nina worked up, you should go help get her calmed down.

"I don't know a thing about kids, Marie." Rosette said quietly, sitting on the step. "I would never be able to do this."

"You do what you have to do." Marie retorted, taking a step up. "That's what Uncle Chrono says."

"There aren't many people in the world like Chrono. I'm not one of them." She wasn't sure she even wanted to be. Marie set her jaw.

"You haven't tried. You haven't had a chance yet."

"You spend to much time listening to Chrono." Rosette grumbled. Marie smiled.

"He's mine to listen to. But, I think he would listen to you, if you said something. He might fight it, might do his best against it, but he would definitely listen, because Nina is right. He does like you." the girl jumped as a hand patted her head.

"It isn't nice to gossip or talk about someone behind their back." Chrono said, smiling. Rosette realized with a groan that the slight sparkle in his eyes meant he'd heard at least some of what they'd been saying. Great. Just great. She had three kids who wanted her to be their Aunt, who wanted her to be part of their lives. "I'm sorry." Chrono said quietly from the kitchen. She went in, leaning against the counter by the window. "They shouldn't have said anything like that. They're... Do you want to get your script? I can listen to you for a little bit, before I have work. Oh. Did your interviews go alright? I saw you around while I was at Prologue."

"Yes I got the job. And I have my script." she pulled it out, opening to the first page. "Chrono? Are you trying out?" Chrono shook his head, chopping up carrots.

"I don't plan on it. I can help you practice though. Read through the first page, Rosette's lines. I'll read the rest from my script. It's here on the counter." They went through the first scene, Rosette doing the lead and Chrono everything else, offering her advice about tone and projection. Finally, twenty runs later, Chrono nodded.

"I liked that one." he said, plating the food. As usual, the second a plate was on the table, the kitchen was full of people. Rosette frowned. Did they hide the rest of the time? Ms. Harvenhiet had once again latched herself onto Chrono, nearly strangling him. Rosette took the opportunity to bop the wretched woman over the head, much to the other Satella's amusement. (They'd been fighting all day)

"Wow Chrono! You're hopping today! Got a spare bite!" Shader bounced into the kitchen, squealing and hugging Azmaria, blathering about how cute the boarders were.

"Chrono! What's for dinner!" Joshua yelled on entrance, returning from soccer. "Oh! I brought a friend!" Rosette felt like falling down with spiral eyes. Why was it always insane here? Then she did fall down, when she caught sight of the guy that Joshua towed in.

A/N: Yes, I know, another lame chapter. However, I got much of my explaining/ hint dropping done, plus some practice for the auditions. Sorry tis part is taking so long. It's sooo hard. Anyway, here's a question: Why did Chrono let the kids sleep over at Mr. Remington's on a school night? Did it have something to do with what Chrono was talking to Mr. R. about on the porch? Ano...we'll have to see!


	15. Enter Brad Maloney

A/N: Sorry about the last few chapters being so suchy. I'm working on it! Anyway, welcome to chapter fifteen-and no one mentioned my question from before, about the fanfics! I really could use some advice on that! Thank you to everyone who's reading this. I love you all because you give me a reason to write! Anyways, what's gunna happen now?

Disclaimer: you know by now, don't you?

Chapter fifteen: Enter Brad Maloney

_The golden angel glared at the new boy. He wasn't a soul she'd seen before. This could be trouble too. He didn't remind her of anyone... but she didn't like the way he was looking at Rosette, or the way the girl was looking back. This could be trouble, and they didn't have time for it!_

The second Brad Maloney walked in, Chrono could feel himself stiffen. Not only did the guy come with a _very_ weird aura, he was looking at Rosette in a way he didn't like one tiny bit. Uh oh. Chrono checked himself. He was acting like he was jealous. Sasafras. The guy had just looked at her, that's all. And anyway, if Rosette had a boyfriend, maybe Aion wouldn't bother her.

He doubted that. But hey, he needed some sort of logic! Chrono frowned as the guy walked past. His stomach was twisting from the aura for Pete's sake. What was the deal with that? Brad noticed the script Chrono had left on the counter.

"You trying out for the play, D'Crusa?" Brad asked. It was all Chrono could do not to bristle at the tone. What was with him today? Normally that sort of thing wouldn't phase him, so why now?

"No, I'm not." he answered coldly. Joshua looked startled at his tone. Shader disappeared into the basement, and Chrono wished he could too. He was very glad that helping Rosette practice had delayed supper enough he could leave for work as soon as the others were eating. Still, he was feeling almost dizzy from the aura. It was black, full of darkness...how could the others not sense it?

Because they didn't have the 'gift'. Chrono forced a smile on his face, finished serving supper, then muttered a lie about having to go to work early. Rosette looked vaguely concerned that he wasn't eating, but she covered it well, resuming her conversation with Brad. He paused by the kitchen door a moment, fiddling with his sleeve, straitening it, but really watching Rosette.

She was flirting with Brad, and looking very pretty doing it, not overblown acting like she'd been doing with him. Chrono felt his traitor heart give a twist. Clamping his mouth shut, he strode to his motorcycle and left before he could say anything he would regret later. This was good, anyway, he forced himself to think. If she likes this guy, then she won't...she wouldn't think about him, and that was the best thing for her. He was being selfish to think that maybe she'd like him, maybe, maybe, maybe. It would never work, it was too dangerous for her, too painful. Don't like her. He grinned to himself at the last thought. It would've helped what, ten years ago? Before that? He'd dreamt of her long before they met, for as long as he'd existed. Dreams that were sad, that were funny, dreams that made him wake up screaming, begging, longing. Dreams that held little moments of happiness, a girl too stubborn to give up. Oh yes, he'd never had to fall in love with Rosette Christov: he'd loved her since he was born, curse the day. Nope. And falling out of love was peppercorn hard to do. He'd just have to live with it and stifle his ever determined personal spark of hope.

Too bad he was so determined to fan it.

Chrono hadn't liked Brad. That had been apparent the moment Rosette turned and looked at the tall, blond haired teen. Geez, were all guys here blonde? Why couldn't they go for some other colour, something darker, more exotic...

...like purple? Her stupid mind filled in cheerfully. N-O. Not like purple. Like...she spotted Viede's dark tresses. Yeah! Black!

Black...naw. Too dark. But Brad had smiled at her, with perfect white teeth in a perfect face with perfect green eyes and Rosette smiled back.

Because she could feel Chrono's disquiet behind her, and it was fun, especially seeing as she could increase it, just by flirting.

"So, do you go to our school? I haven't seen you?" she said, making sure to sound perky, interested. Satella rolled her eyes, mouthing 'flirt-bag' to Az, who looked worried. Rosette was more interested in the fact Chrono had stopped by the door, stalling, watching her. Oh yes, she thought gleefully, he was.

"Yeah, I'm in your school. Grade eleven." Rosette was torn between listening to Brad's accent, which was very sexy, and watching Chrono leave, his long legs eating up the hall faster than she would've thought, but still managing to look proud. He was a good actor. "You would've seen me around," Brad continued, forcing Rosette back to him and his accent. He drawled, slightly, or just spoke real slow, drawing out words here and there. She studied the way he sprawled in the chair, looking more relaxed then Chrono ever did. That guy's back was wa-ay to stiff for his own good. Still, Chrono's face had a different feeling then Brad's...and why, she asked herself, was she comparing them? "Yeah, I'm around. I hang down in the gym at recess, or out on the field in good weather. And you, I haven't seen you that much. Where do you hang out?" Rosette shrugged daintily, forcing herself to eat without gulping it down. Darn Chrono for making it taste so good! She'd never last...especially when she saw the cupcakes cooling on the counter. I'll kill him! she vowed. How was she supposed to annoy him if he could get her so easily? It wasn't fair. And her stomach would pay. It was men who were supposed to be won through food, she told it, not teenage girls. It just grumbled and asked for more soup. Brad laughed.

"You're a cutie. Hey Joshua, if I open a boarding house, will cute girls stay with me? There's only you and Viede, and they seem to flock here." Az looked hurt.

"Chrono's here too!" Brad waved a hand.

"Ah Azmaria was it? Well, a guy like him doesn't count. He doesn't like girls." Rosette felt her stomach clench. It was none of Brad's business.

"That isn't true." she said quietly. Brad raised an eyebrow at her, then shrugged.

"No one gives a damn 'bout Creepy Crusa anyway, and he doesn't care about anyone else either. He's not really that secure in the head, so I wouldn't want to be anywhere near him." Brad swallowed a mouthful of food and caught Rosette's look. "What?"

"You shouldn't talk about it if you have no idea about it." she carried her plate to the counter and put it in the sink. Everyone stared at her, she could feel it, but she continued, hiding a smile as she marched up the stairs.

"Hey Rosette!" Brad yelled, making her pause at the foot. "Will you go out with me?" he gave her a slow, winning grin.

"NO way in hell." she snapped, charging up the stairs to her room and slamming the door. What a jerk! Rosette threw herself down onto the bed. Were all guys here that insensitive? It wasn't Chrono's fault he had no time to date. He didn't have to be as stiff and boring as he was, but underneath that...she had seen him to have a playful, energetic, fun-loving side too. Pity it was rarely let out. Still humphing over Brad, Rosette pulled out her script to study. The auditions were starting, and she was going to be in the play. If she wasn't, she might end up on the costume team with Ms. Harvenhiet. She shuddered. She rarely saw the woman, as Ms. Harvenhiet was giving all the others wardrobe tips and designing tips, clothing tips and...tips about some things Rosette did NOT want in her head. No, she could do without her. Satella, the other one, seemed to be seething over the fashion consultant's arrival more than she did. The two fought day and night, driving everyone else insane. Speaking of which...

"Where are my black high heels!" (Satella)

"The ones with the little jewels on them?" (Az)

"Yes! I need them for my date tonight--oops!" (Satella) There was a click, click, click, followed by...

"Your shoes were a fashion crime, Satella. I got rid of them." (Ms. Harvenhiet). There was a roar of rage from the hall, (or hell?) followed by a crash and several screams. Groaning, Rosette stalked to the door and looked into the hall, glaring at the trio who now lay in a heap at the bottom of the stairs. Satella was still trying to strangle Ms. Harvenhiet, who was holding her own quite nicely.

"My boyfriend gave me those you btch!"

"Your boyfriend has no taste, and he's soo old looking."

"You don't even know who he is!"

"I know the type you date! Older guys with no taste!"

"You shut up you old woman! He's seventeen, same as me, and you have no right to talk about lack of taste! He has more in his left nostril then you have in your entire body! At least I don't get crushes on people like Chrono D'Crusa!"

"But Chrono's cute!"

"He's a stuffy, annoying little pipsqueak, but on the other hand, he's still better then having anything to do with you!"

"Guys, guys stop!" Az cried, leaping out of the way as the warring pair crashed into the living room.

"You shut up Satella! You know nothing about him!"

"I'm not the one living in some half-hatched dream of the past! I, at least, have a grip on reality, which is more then you can say about you, Chrono, or his little brats!"

"I told you to shut up! And what do you know about reality? That just because you never felt it, saw it, that it can't exist!"

"I would rather that then telling people I'm from the 1920's! Come on! And that that play is true?"

"But Satella!" Az pleaded. "You saw the picture yourself!"

"Pictures can be faked!"

"Will you three shut up!" Rosette snarled, stomping down the stairs. "There're kids trying to get some sleep. Az, you go on, you, Fi and Joshua were going to a concert tonight? Ms. Harvenhiet," she gave the woman a noogie attack, making Satella fall over in laughter until Rosette kindly shared one with her too. "Give her back the shoes. And Satella?" Rosette glared at the gloating teenager. "You shut the hell up about Chrono. He's got too much bull to handle as it is without us adding too it. Anyway, aren't you supposed to be going on a date?" Satella let out a shriek and tore up the stairs, clonking Ms. Harvenhiet over the head. Ms. Harvenhiet stood up, studying Rosette. She looked like she was going to say something, but Rosette just snorted and pushed past her, stalking into the kitchen, making herself a sandwich. She hadn't eaten that much for dinner.

"Nice job!" Shader said, bouncing into the room and hugging her. "You're sooo fantastic! It's no wonder Chrono wanted you around!"

"He didn't know who I was when he picked me. And I was just annoyed, that's all. I couldn't practice with them arguing like that." Shader raised her eyebrows, leaning on the counter, absently rolling an apple around her fingers.

"He says he didn't know who you were." she said finally, in a much softer tone than Rosette had ever heard from her. "He says that, but I don't think that's true. Nope, I don't!" instantly she switched back to annoying-hyper. Rolling her eyes, Rosette stomped back upstairs. She wanted nothing to do with the very, very weird people.

"Numbers 32 and 33." Rosette's stomach twisted as she watched the next pair go in. It was audition day. Wednesday, although why they were starting so soon, she didn't know. But that didn't matter. Her audition was much, much too close, as she was number 35. The were arranged in male-female order, and were working in pairs. She would work with number 34.

"Nervous?" her soon-to-be-partner turned around with a smile and she leapt back with a gasp.

"Brad?" just her luck. Just her wonderful luck! Well, at least they weren't picked by the pair. This was really just an editing process, so hopefully Brad would be knocked out, and besides, even if he wasn't, the chances they'd be working together were so slim!

"Numbers 34 and 35."

"I hope you can sing, Rosette. I'm the singer in a band. We're performing at Austy's this Friday. Care to come? It's an okay place and-"

"Yeah, I know it. I was there last week." They stopped talking as they the room." Both froze by the door of the remodelled classroom. The interior was ridiculously fancy for a classroom, full of props, costumes and rich fabric and colour.

"Come in, Come in." Aion waved them into the room from where he was lounging, his stylishly booted feet on his new desk. "Ah, Ms. Rosette Christov and Mr. Brad Maloney. Welcome to my stage." Rosette stiffened. The words were familiar, and they made her stomach churn. She'd heard something similar before..."Well, seeing as this is a musical, would you please sing the opening song, _An Unlikely Story_. Rosette shivered. She'd practiced that one last night with Chrono. It was haunting and dark, looping, drawing her in. All the songs did that, roping her in and tying her up. Chrono could do that, if he sang it himself. When she sang with him, well, it scared her. But this was the auditions, this was where she had to get it right! She watched Brad out of the corner of her eye as he scanned the music. The male part came first, a solo, as was the second verse, a female solo. Then it was a duet. Rosette closed her eyes, waiting, waiting for Brad to start. She hated that."I'll count you in, then put on the cd." Aion warned. "Be ready!" he added cheerily, and hit play. Brad jumped.

"But I!-"the first few bars had gone byand he missed the start, stumbling into the second line.

It was wrong! Rosette actually opened her eyes and stared at him. The rhythem was wrong! So was the tone! It wasn't a rock song! Her entrance came, she sang, the way it was supposed to be. Quiet, dreaming, throbbing, sad but hopeful, a love that would never work, could never show, but did as best it could. Pity the tone and vision was ruined when stupid Brad opened his mouth and ruined the rest of the song. Did he not know it at all? Finally, Aion clapped his hands for them to stop. He scribbled some notes and handed them to his secretary, a small woman hunched over a regular desk with short hair and a floppy wide brimmed hat that covered her face.

"I'll let you know if you're picked so you can start practicing. You'll know by Friday!" he said cheerily. "Number 36 and 37! Oh! And Rosette?" she turned, scowling at his smile. "Don't pay attention to my little brother. He's filling your head with lies. I look forward working with you- and the other students, of course."

"Whatever. You're none of my business." she snapped, stalking from the room. She tried to ignor the fact she was pretty sure he'd said 'yet'.

"Hey! Rosette!" Brad fell into step beside her. "You're a pretty good singer. And I just noticed! You have the same name as the female lead! Cool, right? No Brad's though."

"Good thing." she sniffed, trying to speed up. Unfourtunatly, his legs were longer than hers.

"Aw, come on Rosette! And please," he darted in front of her, walking backwards and fixing his hair. "Give me some praise here! I blew him away on that song, didn't I? I mean,"he grinned. "no one can look at this face and not see 'famous actor' written all over it. I was wonderful, wasn't I?" Rosette snorted.

"A wonderful mess up, or wonderfully arogent. You suck! You sang it like a rock song, which it's not. That song has to set the mood for the play, kind of sad, kind of hopeful. Your version was neither!" Brad stopped, letting her catch up.

"You some sort of expert?" he mocked.

"I put effort into things, that's more then you do."

"At least I don't live in the same house as Creepy Crusa!" Rosette turned on him.

"Why does everyone harp on that point!" she snarled. "And don't deny it! You all bug him, at least behind his back! Why is that? What's the problem with him?" A number of people had stopped and were staring at them, but Rosette didn't care. Screw them! She wanted answers!

"Well-er-it's because he goes and freaks out, like, he used to pass out in class or gym, and once, when the ball him in the neck, he started screaming. All our folks say he shouldn't be allowed in the school. Then there was..." Brad continued listing off times Chrono had proven himself to be weird. Rosette listened, but she couldn't help thinking of the park, how the people around Nina had acted when Nina had had a vision, or even when she had one. The difference was amazing.

Why then, did Chrono have to be subjected to this? Why was he stuck being treated like the freak he wasn't? It wasn't fair! Did God have something against him?

"It's been said he's got a devil soul." Brad added as the next bell for class rang. "A demon in a human body."

For some reason, the words felt true.

A/N: well, I got the auditions started. No, they may not be finished yet, and there's still plenty to do, so hang in there. I don't know if anyone will like this chapter, but I'm doing my best. If you like it, tell me. If you don't like it, tell me. If you're indifferent, tell me. It isn't so hard to push that little purple button, and I need to know!

S.Neko-chan


	16. A Wednesday Afternoon

A/N: thanks for the reviews...truth is, I have another story I'd like to start, so the time between chapters might be longer. Stay tuned for either Puppy Love or Letters from Hell, both are CC stories, so please read. I'll do my best with all!

Disclaimer: I don't own cc, I own Bridges. And ya know what? I don't mind anymore, after all, I wouldn't be writing this if I owned CC, would I?

Chapter 16:

_A human with a demon soul... the golden angel sighed. Yes, that was true. Too true. But a demon soul was still a soul, just one that hadn't learned to care. Chrono had learned how to love, but he still hadn't been given a human soul that could enter heaven, and he never would be. The opportunity to have a mortal and a demon fall in love came too rarely to grant these two lovers a break. _

_Unfortunately, having a demon soul would severely affect how a human body worked, or, more importantly, how long it worked. She sighed again. She didn't care about the greater meaning, in this case. Wasn't there a way to bridge the heavenly roads, without sacrificing the hearts of two innocents? Even if one innocent was a demon._

A human with a demon soul. Rosette tried to push the comment from her head as she took orders at the Roll cafe. It wasn't easy. No, it was really hard. How was she supposed to, when she knew that right across the street, said human-with-a-demon-soul was working his ass off (and she could see him, running around, restocking) to pay for what? Three children.

"My, my, Miss Rosette. You seem awfully busy. Still, you must keep your mind on the task at hand. Wouldn't want me to complain to the manager." Rosette blinked and looked at the full table she'd just served.

"A-Aion!"

"That's Mr. Castor to you, young lady!" Principal Maloney snapped. Aion patted his arm.

"Now, now sir! There's no need for formalities, is there Rosette." he winked at her. "She and I are already acquainted. I didn't know you worked here, m'dear."

"_Chrono_ suggested it." Rosette set their water glasses down, looking quickly around the table. Aion, the principal and the funny secretary lady from earlier. The woman seemed to sense she was being looked at, and slouched lower in her seat.

"Chrono?" Aion stretched his little brother's name, said it musingly. The effect made her want to throw up. "He does a good job of keeping you in line, doesn't he. A very...paternal fellow. Must be annoying, having a little pest like him looking over your shoulder. You need more freedom, less work..."

"I have work now, thank you very much." Rosette turned and went to place their orders. She didn't tamper with them, although she was tempted, she didn't want to lose this job.

"You seem to be having a rough first day." Rosette turned to her next customer.

"Mr. Remington! Geez, Do all of you come here?" Mr. Remington smiled, but shot a glare towards Aion over his water glass. "That man gives me the creeps. Makes my temper boil. Besides, he's been snooping around Chrono's for the past week."

'I can't believe he's Chrono's brother, although, Chrono can be a bit snoopy too, but at least with him you know he's honest."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, go back a page. Brothers?" Rosette raised an eyebrow. He didn't know?

"Yeah. He's the kid's father. Dumped them on Chrono." Remington winched.

"I didn't know. If I did, he wouldn't be working at the school. He asked for the job." he narrowed his eyes. "But Mr. Maloney seems up to something himself. That old bat...he doesn't like Chrono. Tried to kick him out. Luckily enough, Miss Valentine stepped in. He wasn't expecting it, no one was, but once Ms. V was with Chrono, well, the other teachers wouldn't say no. Mr. Maloney wants him kicked out. His son doesn't like him much either." Remington sighed, but Rosette had to move onto the next table full of kids, grumpy parents and annoying guys whistling at her. Maybe she should take Chrono's route and dress in baggy clothes to disguise her looks. Right now, her head was pounding. Maybe she wasn't cut out for this job. She was soooo tired, and she still had homework to do.

How did Chrono do it? She glanced across the street to the closing book shop. Chrono. He'd finish up there, go home, make supper, get the children set up then go out again to work until whatever time he got back after work at Austy's. No wonder he did his homework at lunch. Otherwise, he'd never get it done. And what about other chores? He also did laundry, and gardening, and he went to school...Rosette shook her spinning head. The guy was nuts! Rosette glanced at the clock and muffled a curse. While Prologue was closing for the night, she had another hour left until her shift was over, then another half hour walk up the hill, at least. Supper would be long over, and she wouldn't get a chance to talk to Chrono.

"You shouldn't worry, m'dear. You'll get worry lines on that pretty face of yours. And that _would_ be such a shame, a pretty girl like you. You shouldn't have to worry about anything." Aion came up behind her.

"Everyone has something to worry about, Mr. Castov, and they don't need added worry. You should take care of your own problems and leave others alone." she started wiping down tables, hoping he'd leave.

No such luck. Aion slung himself in a chair and studied her. His thorough eyes were creeping her out. Especially when they paused on her chest. She turned away, too quickly for him not to notice. He chuckled.

"I like feisty girls, Ms. Christov. Your father didn't know his luck."

"My father actually took part in the raising of his children."

"He and I are two different people. I couldn't have my adoring fans think badly of me, could I?" Rosette move to another table, but Aion's eyes followed.

"You cost Chrono his dream." she snapped, for it was true. She shot the clock a dirty glare. Half an hour and no sign of Aion leaving. Aion shrugged.

"He's a freak. They don't dream, except of ghosts and things." he laughed. "Boo. No go huh. You're a stubborn girl, Miss Christov. But what _was_ his dream anyway? To survive the curse for longer than the doctors predicted? Or to have a normal existence? Or perhaps to have a pretty girlfriend. That must be it! A guy like him aspires to great things, Miss Rosette. Pity he hasn't the ways of moving up the ladder. Now, if he had a way to get money...like from a gullible young girl..." Rosette clenched her teeth as Aion continued. She could really understand why Chrono hated him. But what was the curse? Demon soul. That had something to do with it. She was sure of it, although why such a preposterous idea rang true she didn't know. Tick. It was time to go. Snatching her coat, Rosette grabbed her jacket and scurried into the soggy street. Mercifully, Aion didn't follow, for he was flirting with the cashier.

"Hey." she stiffened. Leaning against the street light was Brad. Just the person she didn't want to see. She'd had enough of idiots for one night. She just wanted to go home and go to bed. Forget her homework! Brad didn't pick up on this fact, and fell into step beside her. "Uh...Rosette? I wanted to say I'm sorry about what I said before. You know, about D'Crusa? I-well- I was only saying what others say. No biggy. He's probably used to it, but I am sorry. 'k?"

"Whatever. You're still a jerk and several other things. Go away. I have a long walk home." Brad looked surprised.

"You're going home already? Is St. John's that bad?" Rosette rolled her eyes, pausing to look out the Narrows.

"No, stupid. Here home. Now go away."

"But it's dangerous for a girl to be out on the streets alone."

"Not here. And anyway-"

"She's not alone." they both turned to the third voice, Chrono of course. Rosette sighed. She wasn't sure if she wanted to seem him either. Still, anyone was better then Brad. She caught a movement across the street. Then again, maybe she was wrong.

"Chrono, finally!" she squeaked, grabbing his arm. "What took ya! Let's go!" she hauled him up the street, casting a nervous look back to where Aion was standing with Brad. They'd walked a short ways when her stomach growled. Rosette blushed and put her hand over it. "Oooohhh. I'm sooo hungry. Why'd you have to pick out a resteraunt for me to work at, hm? You trying to torture me?" Chrono smiled, but it wasn't very entusiastic.

"You picked the place. I just gave you a list. Anyway-"he yawned. "There's food back at the house. The others ate earlier. Sas-a-fa-aaaaassss." he groaned. Without glasses to hide behind, Rosette noticed he resembled a raccoon.

"You're going to make yourself sick, you know."

"That doesn't matter. Mr. Remington can look after the kids. The papers are almost through anyway." he muffled a cough.

"What papers?"

"You had a hard day at work today. Aion sure stuck pretty close."

"Answer my question!"

"The adoption papers. I was watching from Prologue, but I ran out of jobs by the window. He didn't try to hurt you, did he? How'd the auditions go?" he moved towards the front porch, but she grabbed his shoulder.

"You're evading the topic." she said darkly.

"It isn't any of your concern. In most cases, you would rarely talk to the land lord."

"This isn't most cases, it's this case. What are you hiding?"

"It's still none of your concern!" he jerked his sleeve, but she held tight.

"I shouldn't have involved you!"he ripped away, and stood with his back to the door, panting slightly. "I shouldn't have, it was wrong of me!" he pressed his hands to his face and sat down on the worn boards. "I put you in danger by telling you about my life. Bad things happen to people who get close to me, so it's better if you just back off. Aion won't bother you if you have nothing to do with me! I-"

"Oh stop. We're friends. And bad things happen to everyone." She patted him on the head and sat next to him. He snorted and moved away, standing.

"I'm not like Mary." Rosette said quietly. "I'm not at all like her. I won't abandon you." she stood, and met his eyes. "I'm not a coward who'll throw everything away just 'cuz it's tough and not going my way. Don't you be one either. Oh I know, you wouldn't give up by taking your life, you have the kids to set an example for." where was this coming from? "But you gave up in a way almost as important. Chrono," she touched his cheek. "don't give up on yourself."

A/N: A short chapter, but I'm sooo tired...kinda like Rosette. But she's changed, yah notice? Probably not. I'm working on it. You'll see soon. But things haven't even started to solve themselves. Just because Rosette changed, doesn't mean Chrono has. He's a stubborn bucket and a half. Stupid Chrono. Anyway, thank you for reading. And Questions, comments, reviews, flames, advice or weird says (or anything else you might want to say) please press the little purple button and say it. Come on. Take two minutes (more or less, it's your choice) it won't hurt and I'll write more. Pleaaaasssseee review! And thank you everyone who did! Have a good Day/NightLaPititeS.Neko-chan


	17. When General Insanity Hits

A/N: Hello! Wow, I'm happy. I put up a chapter before I started this, and I put up one yesterday: all around room cleaning and gardening! Wha-ha! I'm happy. And hyper. If this was a different story, that'd equal fluff. Sadly, fluff scenes have to wait...drama first, romance later. Noooooo (falls off cliff into romance-less ocean and explodes into a million drops of unused fluffy ideas. Question: who came up with the term fluff? Anyone know? And the 'that's just Jake' thing. Was that in the anime? I've not seen it, but you hear the 'that's just Jake' bit all the time. Is it from the series, or is it just like sassafras, and people ended up using it. I'm curious. A curious kitty. Neko-chans rule! Bwahaha...but I like flowers and soup, and car destroying people, saints, people with funny names and all of you who reviewed NTNP, so I write to be read. Please read! I write cuz I love you all! Wow. I really am hyper...-- ...

On to chapter seventeen! Wow!

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono crusade, Chrono crusade, Chrono crusade. I don't own Chrono crusade (McB whacks Sneko over her head and smiles apologetically at the puzzled readers while giving poor Sneko a noogie attack and warning that if she ever sings again, she will sue her for slandering CC. )

Chapter 17

_Golden angel sat, watching the male half of her favourite pair as he worked. His thought were clearly else where. Perfect. Things were finally starting to pick up, weren't they? Sure there was still things that would happen, but surely, now that they were friends, the two souls would be fine, right?_

He was in big trouble. Big, big, big trouble. Big, big- that's enough, he told himself crossly. He had no time to be thinking like this. He had to figure out what he could do to push Rosette away. She was getting much to close, and Aion was well onto that fact. He stepped back to look at the cables he was fixing, rubbing quickly at his blurry vision. Sassafrass! It would help if he had his glasses, but they had been broken last week, so now he was stuck without them until he had the money to pay for a new pair. But, seeing as he had Nina's medicine to pay for, his own medicine to pay for, phone bills, cable bills, house supplies, day care, the list went on and on. Yup. He hated not having money for emergencies, but he couldn't work anymore than he was without losing what little time he had left to do homework and be with the kids. He'd considered dropping out of school, but he'd never get a better job then, and anyway, the idea appalled him. He'd never be able to live with himself. Getting good marks was about the only semi-normal thing he could do. It kept him from going insane, a threat he was honestly worried about.

"Crusa! You got those wires finished?" Austy came over, a smile on his wide face. Chrono nodded and straitened, winching as his spine shuddered. He resisted the urge to touch the swelling, and focused instead on what Austy was saying.

"You've heard about the play? Well, they'll need a sound technician there for the performance and the practices. You go to school there, so it's a great opportunity. Same as you get hired to do the sound set up for dances, only a bigger production. It's a great chance D'Crusa."

"What? What's a great chance?" This was ridicules! He could barely concentrate.

"You're doing the sound work for you school's play. They wanted to hire someone local, some one from here. You're perfect. You like designing theatre sets and such, and you like music. It's the perfect job for you. You'll be working on it some nights instead of working here, but I can't give you up Fridays!" Austy patted his shoulder and strolled off. "You'll get your name out there yet D'Crusa!" Chrono smiled, but it was external only. He was to be a sound specialist for the school? Yeah, he knew some about it, but only what he'd taken time to read, and what he'd learned from working here. He wasn't sure that was enough to go on for a play. But then again, if he worked sound, he would be around the set during practices, and could keep an eye on Rosette. Yeah, that's right! He could. He'd already done his audition- not by his own choice, everyone had to. He highly doubted he'd be picked, seeing as the only people who'd heard the audition were Aion and Ms. Valentine. Yup, he was pretty sure he wouldn't make it on stage that way, so maybe this wasn't so bad...Chrono hid a yawn. So tired...

"You bd!" he glanced up at the table in the back corner and groaned. His head was already pounding, but this crowd was one he was used to.

The guy's name was Genai, and he ran a popular sports store downtown. (Genai's sports store and it's business and everything about it is fictional. He is NOT BASED ON ANYTHING/ ONE REAL.) He was well known for his... different dealings. Everyone said he dealt a little black magic along side his very abundant beer. Chrono didn't know about that, but he knew the guy was a hassle to kick out. He glanced at Austy who gave him the -out- sign and slumped. Not fair. He was soooooo sleepy, and why couldn't someone else ask him to leave? Miserably, he slunk up to the table.

"Excuse me sir-"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S NOT GUNNA SHOW!" the guy was still yelling at his company, a tall man in a black hoodie. Chrono stiffened. This guy had a weird aura too, and even though he tried to close himself down during work, he could still feel it. They both had odd auras.

"It isn't my fault." the man in the hoodie grumbled, his voice muffled by the hood. "I tried to convince her but-"

"BUT NOTHIN'! BOSS AIN'T GUNNA WAIT-" Genai had leapt up, lifting the be-hoodied man.

"Keep it down! I know he won't wait! He was talking to me today!"

"EXCUSE ME!" Chrono said sharply. Genai glared at him and Chrono tried not to cower. He really wasn't in the mood for this.

"Well, well well, look who it is. The little sound techy and security... come to kick us out?"

"I'm afraid so." Chrono said quietly. Genai leapt over and grabbed his collar.

"Aw look. He's afraid so. Ha! Were you listening to us, you little spy! It isn't any of your business."

"You're disrupting customers here sir." Chrono said calmly, pulling himself free. "You'll have to take your discussion outside."

"You little brat!" Chrono crashed into the table behind him, dazed. He shook his head, trying to clear it. _A flash of silver, blood._ Chrono dove to the side as Genai's knife imbedded itself in the knocked over table. Still dizzy from the blow, Chrono tripped him. He really did hate using force.

"Enough." Chrono was never so happy to hear a policeman. He moved aside and allowed Benji, a policeman who covered the area and came to the bar off duty, to take over. Head still fuzzy, he allowed himself to sit down while things cleared up around him.

"You alright there D'Crusa?" the older man asked once it was, seating himself across the table. Benji had a fond spot for the teen. Chrono nodded, noticing suddenly his lip was bleeding.

"Oh." he grabbed a napkin and staunched the bleeding. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"That's a relief." Austy came over. "You want a run home? I have to pick up Shader, and you can pitch your motorcycle in the back."

"That's alright. I-"

"You're in no shape to drive kiddo. You try and I might have to arrest you." Benji smiled wryly. "Take the run. I'll see to your bike." To tired to argue, Chrono simply nodded and stumbled after Austy to the truck.

The first thing Rosette knew when she woke up, was it was raining. The second thing she knew was that people were yelling at each other in the hallway. Idiots. She rolled over, about to go back to sleep, when she happened to catch sight of the time.

9:30. She leapt from bed with a scream that rivalled the ones from the hall. It would seem everyone had just woken up. Hauling a shirt over her head, Rosette raced into the hall, crashing into Azmaria who was trying to hold up her housecoat.

"I'm out of clothes!" she wailed, fleeing down stairs.

"Where's my dress!" Satella yelled, pounding Ms. Harvenhiet over the head.

"I don't have it!" the other woman shrieked back.

"Chrono! Is it possible to grab something to eat on the way?" Josh called, turning onto the girls hall and instantly turning red. Rosette looked around. Fi was in a pale white night gown, Satella was wearing an undershirt and a skirt, Az had come upstairs again, holding a dress but still half out of her housecoat. Under that she was wearing a night gown, but she was very modest. Ms. Harvenhiet wore a tight black night shirt and lacy black underwear...Rosette looked down.

She wasn't wearing any pants.

"JOSHUA, YOU PERVERT!" The hapless Joshua was sent flying over the stairs as the girls struggled to find anything even a quarter presentable to wear.

"Eeerg! Stupid Chrono! He didn't bring up the laundry!" Satella fumed.

"Don't be too mad!" Az called desperately as they raced down the steps, fully clothed. "He came back really late last night."

"I don't care!" Satella snarled. She screeched into the front hall, only to trip over Nina. The child let out a scream upon seeing Satella and fled, crashing into Kino and Marie and sending the lot of them over the basement steps. From the sound of the yells and the crashes, Chrono had been on the way up. Az, Ms. Harvenhiet, Satella, Rosette, Fi, Joshua and Viede all piled into the doorway, peering into the shadowy basement, which was very noisy with screaming children. Chrono came up carrying Nina; Marie and Kino close behind.

"What's the deal!" Satella snapped. "Why didn't you call us!"

"Where are the clothes?" Az wailed.

"Uncle Chrono, I'm hungry!" Kino whined.

"Aw! You're so cute!" Ms. Harvenhiet squealed, hugging both Kino and Chrono.

"Chrono, we've got to hurry, and there's no food!" Joshua moaned.

"Food later, clothes first!" Satella snarled

'But you look nice." Viede whispered to her. Satella blushed, fixing her hair

"Oh. Of course I do! On to food! We're late anyway!" she said, suddenly cheerful. Chrono slogged his way to the laundry room and handed out people clothes before stumbling into the kitchen and starting breakfast. Rosette cracked some eggs into the frying pan while the others vanished upstairs.

"Uncle Chronoo!" Kino whined. "Marie hit me!"

"Did not! And give back my yo-yo!" Marie objected. "And Shader gave me a time out yesterday!"

"Chrono! Where are my socks!" Joshua bellowed, running into the room. "These are pink!"

"Uncle Chrono! Have you seen Fluffy?" Nina asked, searching for what Kino informed Rosette was a stuffed cat toy. Finally, Chrono went to the sink and splashed water on his face. Rosette turned.

"Not awake?"

"Bit more now." he handed Nina the stuffed toy which she'd left upstairs before sorting out Kino and Marie's latest argument. Joshua waved the socks in his face.

"My socks?" Chrono blinked.

"Sorry. They must've been put with the wrong load of laundry. ROSETTE! THE EGGS!" Rosette turned with a yelp, the scent of burning food filling the room and setting off the smoke alarm. Half an hour later, when they still hadn't managed to get any edible food onto the table and people were still screaming about clothing, Chrono called a halt to the insanity by calmly calling both schools and informing Mr. Remington that due to household difficulties, the entire household would be absent for the rest of the day.

"Hurray!" the kids cheered. Joshua slapped him on the shoulder.

"Didn't know you had it in ya!" he chuckled. Chrono didn't smile.

"This isn't a holiday. Things have gotten completely out of control here. That has to change." he glanced around kitchen, studying all the occupants, from the sexy stanced Satella's to Nina who was cowering behind Rosette. Chrono sighed. If he had known it would turn out like this... "Let's go." he strode to the front door to meet the puzzled stares of the rest of the people. He shrugged. "I have shopping to do and I haven't had a chance to do it. You're all coming with me." He folded his arms and glared at them. He looked surprisingly fierce, Rosette noticed. He was wearing the clothes he normally seemed to reserve for Austy's, a black sleeveless and tight black jeans, his long hair in a braid. He was wearing ankle boots with little chains on them. Coupled his brused cheek and cut lip...

"What happened to your face?" how could she not have noticed it! Chrono blinked in surprise, hand coming up and brushing him lip. He winched.

"Nothing. We've got to hurry if we're going to catch the bus."

"A bus?" Ms. Harvenhiet screeched. "B-but that's for commoners!" Chrono rolled his eyes, helping Nina with her rain coat.

"Then you can walk. We've got a ton of things to do today, and you'll all be helping." They silently filed out into the rain, stunned by Chrono's abrupt change in manner.

"What's with him?" Satella grumbled, swiping water from her face. "He's never been this grumpy before. This is ruining my make up."

"I don't mind." Az said, dodging a puddle. "He's right. We haven't been doing that much to help him out."

"We still shouldn't have to do this!" Ms. Harvenhiet muttered. "If he weren't so darn cute...those jeans make him look-ow!" She howled as Rosette gave her a noogie attack.

"Lay off! Where are we going anyway, Chrono?"

"Uncle Chrono, I'm tired!" Marie whined. Chrono, who was already carrieing Nina glanced down at her.

"I hate kids!" Joshua muttered to Viede, who nodded in agreement as Chrono got Marie interested in something or other to keep her energetic. They stood by the bus stop, a large group in their normal but oddly mixed attire, a real variety group.

"We look like some sort of band!" Rosette grinned, waving at a driver who gave them a very odd look as he passed.

"Puddle!" Satella and Fi both screamed as Kino splammed into a pool of water, soaking them thourally. Rosette felt a tug on her jacket.

"Aunt Rosette! You want a chocolate?" Nina held up a very sticky, very dusty candy that seemed to be covered in lint and drool. Queasy, Rosette shook her head, forcing a smile on her face.

"I-er...I don't eat chocolate-ulk!- before breakfast. You shouldn't either." she wagged a finger at the puzzled child. "It's bad for your stomach." Nina grinned, throwing her chubble little girl arms around Rosette's legs, pressing against her.

"See! You are like a mommy, or my aunt! You like us, right? You won't let Uncle Chrono go away! You'll make sure he doesn't go!" she cried. Rosette looked around quickly, but no one else seemed to be paying attention to them. Chrono was trying to (yet again) quell an arguement between Kino and Marie. Did those two ever get along? Akwardly, she patted Nina's head.

"What do you mean, go away? He wouldn't leave you." she remembered suddenly about the adoption papers. Was that what the girl meant? "Do you mean about being adopted?" Nina frowned and shook her head.

"No." she said crossly. "Not the 'doption. That jus' means we're going to live with Uncle Ewan. No. I don't want Uncle Chrono to leave in a sad-box, cuz then you'll cry." A chill ran up Rosette's back, making the hairs on her neck prickle.

A sad-box? Was that some little kid imagined thing? Suddenly Rosette remembered Nina's vision at the park, how she'd cried and clung to Chrono. She'd seen some of the child's vision, had gotten it from Chrono. The body, the crying woman...the woman. Rosette put a hand on the bench beside her to steady herself as her legs wobbled. That hadn't been just any woman.

It was her. And the body? She glanced over at Chrono, standing resolutely between Kino and Marie, acting as a barrier.

_But I don't want to be seperated from you again!_ The voice in her dream had cried. She barely knew him. They were barely friends. Besides, she was getting worked up over a bunch of stupid dreams?

But what if those dreams are true? An annoying voice in her head hissed. What if they are true?

They're not! She snarled to the voice. They aren't! They couldn't be.

"There's the bus!" Chrono called, walking over. He smiled calmly at her, seemingly over his fousty mood.

_Some people say it's the future, but really, they're just posibilities. It all can change._

"Sasafrass," Rosette whispered. "I hope you were right."

A/N: Dadaaa! And there it is! Chapter 17. I hope you like it! Let's kill Genai, shall we? No wait, we need him. And all the rest of the villins, sadly. And what will happen now? The entire crew at the mall? Dundundaaaa! And what will happen when Rosette and the girls take Chrono clothes shopping? Will he survive to sing another song? And who got the parts for the play? Ooooh, I wanna know...wait, I'm writing it, so I should know. I do know, I do! It's here in my crystal ball. Please R&R, and thanks for reading! Wahaaaa! I'm feeling over-dramatic! Yay! Lalalaaaa. Hehe. Sneko's gone craazzyyy...


	18. At the Mall For the First Time

A/N: Well, here I am, alone- not really. I've got my dog, what more do you need? I'm writing this seconds after I posted chapter 17, so I don't know what you all think! I will tomorrow, when I'll work on this before heading out to work as a gardener. Right. Well, here I go! Lalaaaaa... It's raining. I feel like skipping through puddles. And people say I'm very mature...ha! Only when people are watching. I'm a very silly person at heart, and here, out of the line of sight, I can be as silly as I wish. Actually, I'm silly at home, but at school, I'm known for being stern and no-nonsense. Sigh. I'm sooo boring at school because people expect me to be serious. If that expectation wasn't there, I would be different, but forget school; on to chapter 18, hurrah!

Oh. Places: The Tagalong Mall is a renamed mall in St. John's. It's based on a real one, but I don't know if I'll use all re-named stores or not: the reason being there are stores I need to be there that aren't- stupid mall! No. I don't mean that. I like the mall. Just not as much as Downtown...sigh...

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade!

Chapter 18

_Well, at least it would be interesting. Gold angel mused as she watched the flickering souls board the bus. She'd ridden on them frequently in her last human life, enjoying the travel through the town, looking at people and places and chatting with a boy she was destined to betray. Curse heaven's plans! They always did more harm than good, at least in the mortal realms._

The first thing that became apparent as the group got on the bus was that of them, very few had actually ridden public transit before. The second was that many of them who hadn't ridden it before were unaccustomed to plastic seats.

"They're soooo hard!" Ms. Harvenhiet moaned.

"Shut up!" Rosette muttered, wriggling on the cold, damp blue plastic. Normally, Satella would've been the one to tell Ms. Harvenhiet to can it, but said flirt bag was seated on Viede's lap, to make room for Azmaria. No one mentioned that the bus was nearly empty except for them. Rosette found herself sitting between Nina and Marie, right in the very back. (On some of the older buses here, there are five seats across the back facing forward, then three or four facing each other, then sets of two facing forward until you get close to the front...Sneko-chan loves riding busses) Chrono was sitting between Marie and Kino.

"So where are we going." Rosette asked as the bus rumbled off down the street, groaning and complaining as it did. (The bus, not Rosette)

"The Tagalong Mall." he answered, relieving Nina of her sticky candy goop. The girl pouted, but didn't seem too surprised.

"What do we need to get? And why are you dressed differently?" Chrono pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.

"I'm dressed like this because I ran out of sweaters. As for what we need to get... he unrolled a very, very long list written in very, very tiny writing. "I haven't had a chance to get the things I need, and besides," he glanced at the rest of the people from the house. "No one's been doing the shopping they're supposed to, so we're out of food too. When we get there, I'll give people things to do."

"And if they all run off?" Rosette pointed out. "And I'm glad you aren't wearing your normal clothes. You look nice like you are now." He wrinkled his nose at her, but she found the expression more cute than annoyed. Nina giggled and leaned over Rosette's lap to whisper something to Marie.

"I wear the sweaters so people don't think like that. Anyway, I'll just hunt them down. Besides. Food first." He grinned at her as her stomach growled.

"Do you think they'll figure it out?" Joshua asked Fi, leaning over his seat and nodding to the pair in the back. Fi smiled, resting her cheek on his shoulder.

"They will eventually, one would hope."

"I dunno guys." Az said, turning around. "I don't see any signs that they're more than friends."

"Then why does she hit me over the head when I try to hug him?" Ms. Harvenhiet sniffed. Az turned slightly green.

"Any considerate person would." Satella smirked. "You'd have to be a very cruel person to leave him in your hands."

"How rude!" Ms. Harvenhiet quipped. "I'm better then you!"

"I still don't think..." Az murmured.

"Oh come on!" Ms. Harvenhiet said, rolling her eyes.

"Indeed." Chrono said from behind her. "We're here." The others all jumped, each with varying degrees of embarrassment, realizing he'd probably heard much of the conversation. Chrono said nothing about it, but Rosette shot them a very dirty look.

"We're going to the food court first." Chrono said, projecting his voice and snagging Ms. Harvenhiet as she started to sneak off after some little boy. She pouted but stood with the rest as he handed out pieces of paper with lists on them. "Alright. Look, I just need the things on your lists done. Once they are, then you can do what you like here. You're near adults." he added, glancing at Satella and Viede. "And some of us are adults." he glared at the about-to-wander-off-after-some-poor-little-boy Ms. Harvenhiet, who smiled winningly. I'm leaving around four. A route 15 will take you back to the street that crosses Bradford by the funeral home. The stop you'll get off on is just across from the funeral home. If you want to take a taxi, go ahead, it's your money. It's about ten dollars though, so do what you like." With that, he turned and left, kids in tow.

"How rude!" the Satellas sniffed, before glaring at and attacking each other. Viede groaned and pulled them apart.

"Right then." said Joshua. "Who has what?" They all looked at their lists.

"Ceiling plaster?" Satella squinted at the list. "Roofing tiles. Red paint, 2'' paint brushes."

"Yay! I get to pick up the food!" Az said cheerfully.

"I have food on my list too." Fi said. Joshua looked hurt.

"Building supplies." he looked longingly after them as the two girls left. Satella grabbed his arm and towed him and Viede off to find whatever building things were on their lists. Rosette glared at Ms. Harvenhiet. She would murder Chrono! She was going to kill him! How could he send her off with...her?

"Let's go." Rosette grumbled, stomping her way into the mall. Three hours, sixty bitter and bloody arguments later, the two girls had managed to find everything on their lists. Rosette took the chance and went to walk around, leaving Ms Harvenhiet to hug and squeal over anything male below the age of fourteen. That woman was insane. She spotted Fi and Joshua seated together by the electric fireplace, sharing a sundae. She was tempted to go over but...they seemed to be enjoying themselves- despite being surrounded by piles of hardware and grocery bags. She wandered along down the hallway, pausing to look into a store called the Y-store. (Changed name!) Another girl came and peeked in, gasping at the rack of skateboards. Rosette frowned, looking at her out of the corner of her eye. She looked familiar...

The girl was medium height. She wore jeans and a tight black and white striped sleeveless top, as well as red and black sneakers. Her long, pale purple hair was pulled up into a ponytail. A guy in the store caught sight of her.

"Hey! Azzy, is that you?"

"Azmaria!" Rosette yelped, falling over in shock.

"Who-wha ROSETTE!" Azmaria leapt back, giving Rosette a chance to study the change. She was carrying a bag, and Rosette recognised the dress the girl had been wearing sticking out of it.

"Wha-wha-what are you--?" the guy came out. Lanky, probably around 15 or 16, the he was dressed in black baggy jeans and a red shirt. His hair was messy, as if he hadn't brushed it out that morning- and it was blue.

"She a friend of yours Azzy?" he held out a hand. "Jacob Sanders. Pleased to meet you." The trio went to the food court and sat down. That was probably the best thing to do, seeing as both Rosette and Az felt like fainting. "So. Don't you two have school today? It isn't like you to skip Azzy." the girl blushed.

"We all over slept, and the house was a disaster, so Chrono called in and said we wouldn't be there. I'm not missing much."

"What about you?" Rosette asked. "Are you skipping?" Jacob grinned.

"Graduated last year." Rosette let out a squeak and looked from Azzy to Jacob. Graduated? Yeesh, she hadn't thought Azmaria would go for someone so much older--

"He's 15 Rosette!" Az choked out, blushing furiously. "He was home schooled."

"That I was!" Jacob clapped the small girl on the shoulder. "I was pretty full of myself too. Thought I was king." he grinned. "Then Azzy kicked me into orbit in a boarding competition. Been friends ever since." Rosette stared at Azmaria.

"By boarding," she gasped, voice tiny and squeaky. "You don't mean _skateboarding_, do you?" Jacob nodded.

"Oh yeah. Skateboarding, snowboarding, and roller skating, any of it." Az was the colour of pomegranate seeds, so Rosette took the first chance she got to leave, before the poor child died of embarrassment. She shook her head as she left. Maybe she hadn't woken up yet. Azmaria, skateboarding? Well, if she wanted.

"Uncle Chrono? Where are you? Uncle Chrono?" Rosette turned to see a small child wailing by the drugstore.

"Nina?" she waded through the crowd to the sobbing child. "Nina! What are you doing alone?"

"Aunt Rosette?" Nina flung herself onto her, clinging tightly. "I went to see the kitties, and Uncle Chrono disappeared! I don't know where he is! He's gone!" Rosette picked her up and they headed down the hall.

"Don't worry Nina. We'll find him. Did he know where you were going?" Nina paused.

"Yes..." she was lying. Rosette could hear it in her voice.

"You shouldn't fib Nina." she said sternly. "Chrono wouldn't want you too, would he?" Nina shook her head as they found the pet store.

"Have you seen a guy with two kids and purple hair?" she wheezed. The cashier, an older woman with a warm smile nodded.

"Yes, he was looking for his niece- ah ha. You Nina?" she leaned over the counter to look at the child. "Your Uncle is very worried Missy."

"NINA!" They turned as Chrono, Kino and Marie staggered in, swooping up their missing family member. Nina burst into tears again, not even stopping when Marie called her a cry-baby.

"Thank you." Chrono said to Rosette as they waved good-bye to the pet store lady and headed downstairs. "Thanks for finding Nina." Rosette shrugged.

"I was just in the right place when I had to be. Nothing to it."

"Lucky though." He stumbled, carrying Nina and all their bags. He looked ragged, like he'd just spent the last hour running around. "Thanks again." they paused by the doors.

"You guys going home?" Chrono nodded.

"I know It's early, but the kids are tired. Quite frankly," he smiled weakly. "So am I." Rosette nodded.

"Alright. Hey Chrono? What was on your list?" Chrono frowned.

"My list? You mean my shopping list? Just general stuff for these guys," he bounced Nina. "And for the house. I also picked up some winter clothing for them. Kino's boots were worn out; Nina needed mittens, etc, etc. Why?"

"Just curious. What about winter clothing for you?" she rolled her eyes at his shrug. "You intending to freeze this winter? I heard they're cold."

"I'll be fine. Let's go, our bus is there." Rosette hesitated a moment, watching them race for the bus. She had shopping she wanted to do. Besides, it was still raining. Maybe if she waited, it would clear off. Yeah, she would wait. She went back into the mall and started looking around, trying to find a clothing store that had anything that even resembled her style.

Seeing as her style was pretty basic, that wasn't hard to do, so she got bored fairly quickly. She was wandering around, waiting for the time when the bus was supposed to come when she happened upon a music store. Well, she hadn't bought any cd's in the past week, so maybe she'd find something interesting. With her mind set thus, she went into the store and started flipping through the pop/rock sections, the alternative.

"Great selection, huh." Rosette turned around to see who was talking to her, but scowled when she saw Roy. He winched at her look. "Rosette-"

"Leave it." she returned to looking at the cd's, but he didn't go. "What do you want?"

"I want you to hear me out. Sheesh. You're really stubborn, you know that? Look," he said, when she finally turned around again. "I didn't know you'd think it was a date. Around here, Hanging out doesn't necessarily mean it's a date. If I had known you thought that, I would've cleared it up much faster. Basically, I'm sorry." Rosette narrowed her eyes at him.

"Alright. I still think you're a jerk though. What'd I miss in school today." Roy shrugged.

"Nothing much. More auditions. Claire being her usual self. She thinks she's sure to get the lead role. She's an idiot because she can't sing a note. She'll be lucky to be on the stage at all." Rosette couldn't help grinning.

"That's a relief."

"I got a part." Roy said, sounding almost shy. Rosette gulped.

"Which-"

"Sister Kate." Rosette let out a roar of laughter and Roy grinned. "Kidding, kidding. I'm playing Elder."

"The perverted old man? Fitting."

"Hey!" they bantered back and forth for a while, until soon they were sitting in 3rd Mug, a cafe (renamed ) next to the bookstore.

"Rosette!" they looked up to see Satella, Viede, Fi, Joshua, Ms. Harvenhiet and Az. "We've been looking everywhere for you!" Satella said. Then they all stared at Roy.

"Well. I guess Chrono's all mine then!" Ms. Harvenhiet smiled haughtily. Rosette was on her with a snarl.

"You lay one finger on him and I swear you will die!"

"I'm guessing she likes the land lord?" Roy noted to Az who quickly shook her head.

"She says she doesn't." They watched as Ms. Harvenhiet turned blue from Rosette's attack.

"Shouldn't we stop them before someone get hurt?" Roy asked, looking concerned. "She is the fashion consultant for the play." Satella laughed.

"But this is fun! I get to watch miss snob get pounded and I don't have to lift a finger."

"Satella, that's mean." Joshua said. "Anyway, Chrono'll stop them. Where is he anyway?"

"He left awhile ago!" Rosette said, standing and dusting her hands. "Nina was tired. She got lost, but I found her."

"You don't have to sound so proud about it." Ms. H sniffed, fixing her long red hair.

"Who's Nina?" Roy asked. He was feeling very confused. "And speaking of Chrono, did you guys hear? Apparently, Ms. Val put in her vote that he should take the lead male role! I think Brad's getting it, but what a riot!" Satella, Viede, Fi, Joshua and Ms. Harvenhiet all laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" Az cried, her voice high. She'd changed back into her normal attire of dresses, and it seemed she had done it up too tight in her hurry.

"_Chrono_ as the lead?" Satella chuckled. "Oh that's good."

"It would work if the lead male was a frog, but he's a demon!" Joshua grinned. "Ooohhh, can you imagine it!"

"I can." Rosette said, softly, softly. "He'd do a good job too. I wish he would get the lead." Everyone stared at her. "What?" she snapped, catching the mug, which she knocked off the table in her annoyance. "Haven't you guys heard him singing? He's got a good voice." Better than good, she added to herself as they walked to the bus stop. Much better than good.

"Hey! Chrono?" Joshua yelled as they reached the house. Anyone here?" he tugged off his shoes and went to the kitchen.

"Chronoooo" Ms. Harvenhiet sang as she waltzed through the door. "Where are you- arg!" Rosette whacked her over the head before tiptoeing into the basement.

"Hey!" Satella called from the top of the stairs. "No one's actually allowed down there!"

"Can it!" Rosette snapped. She'd been down the black stairs tons of times, and Chrono hadn't been mad. He'd told her to, the one time. "Chrono?" she hissed. If the kids were asleep, she didn't want to wake them up. "Chrono?" Carefully, she opened the door to his room, but stopped there. Chrono was curled up on the sleeping bag, asleep, with Nina flopped across his chest and Kino across his feet.

"Don't wake them up." Marie sniffed, poking her head from her room. "It takes forever to convince him to take a break." she came out, fixing her hair into a braid. They stood in the doorway, watching the slumbering trio.

"Why aren't you asleep?" Rosette asked.

"I'm too old for naps. Besides," she blushed. "I-someone had to stay up to make sure you guys knew we were here."

"You didn't make much of an effort to tell us." Rosette noted, hearing Ms. Harvenhiet still calling upstairs. Marie shrugged.

"You're nosy. I figured you'd come down." Grinning, the girl fled to her room as Rosette lunged at her.

"You little brat!" Rosette snarled, then covered her mouth, hoping she hadn't woken the others. Marie was laughing fit to die behind the door, but she came into the hall again.

"I also wanted to say thank you." she said quietly. "For finding Nina. Uncle Chrono was really worried about her." Rosette smiled at the stubborn girl who refused to look at her.

"No problem. Like I said, lucky timing." she patted Marie's head and darted up the steps to the girl's annoyed muttering.

"I take it they're down there." Joshua said, poking his head from the kitchen.

"Chrono's sleeping. I have no intention of waking him up."

"But who's going to make supper!" Joshua moaned. Rosette started digging through the bags of groceries. Finally, she came up with a can of tomato soup and some vegetables.

"We are." she smirked, handing him the vegetables and a knife. "Get chopping."

"Rosette, you've got a message!" Azmaria shouted. She'd been in the living room checking the answering machine.

"Coming, I'm coming." she grumbled, leaving Az to stir the soup.

"_You have ONE message._" the machine accused in its whiny voice.

'Yah, yeah, I know." she hit play and stiffened as Aion's voice flowed out, smooth with arrogance, even from the answering machine.

"Miss Rosette. You have a fine voice and a wonderful sense of feeling for the words; your emotions are clear and touching. Have you thought of a career in acting? My dear, you'll do well. But let's start small, shall we? How about the lead? Ms. Christov, you'll be playing the part of Rosette Christopher in Not So Good, Not so Evil. You will be notified when practices are to start."

"_End of. Message."_ The machine beeped. Rosette turned and walked back to the kitchen. She had the lead role. SHE had the lead role! Now she just had to find out who really was playing the lead male.

A/N: Well, that's that. Rosette is playing Rosette. Bet you didn't see THAT coming. (Joke. I know it was predictable). Anyway, for those wondering about the clothing thing, it will happen. Just not yet. Have you ever been clothing shopping with tired kids? Not pretty. So who is playing the leading male? We'll have to find out, won't we. (Hmmmmm ?)


	19. The Leading Man

A/N: Hello, Sneko-chan here. How are you? I hope no one really hated the last chapter, but if you did, let me know. It's good to know if people like your story- and thank you those people who have done that- but it's also good to know when people don't like a chapter, so you can learn from your mistakes. But anyway, the plays a-rolling, Rosette has the lead roll! Yaay! Now we just have find out her leading man...will it be Chrono? I hope. Will it be Brad? We already know who Elder is. Ah well, on with the play! And story.

Question: would people like to see Not So Good, Not So Evil written out as a bonus at the end, song lyrics included? If I get enough people wanting it, I will. The lyrics for An Unlikely Story will appear here later, but I'm not going to write out the entire play, only parts, so let me know if you want the whole thing. The play has two major sections: The part that happened, ie, the manga and the part that's a what if scenario, of what if Rosette and her Demonic partner were reborn in modern times. Give me a shout with your opinion!

Disclaimer: I don't own CC.

Chapter 19

_Golden stared at him. Oh she'd forgotten. The things you missed when you were enjoying the afterlife. Still, things would be interesting...and she would murder Aion. That non available option sounded really good right now._

The entire school was gathered around the bulletin board in the front hall, or that's what it seemed to Rosette and the others when they entered the school that Friday. However, the second Rosette had stepped into the room, the entire school was clamouring around her: She had the leading role.

"You're so lucky Rosette!" a group of ninth grade girls gushed.

"Oh don't be stupid." Claire huffed, stalking over. The people moved aside so she could pass, until she was standing before Rosette. "How in hell did YOU get the part, newwy?" she smirked. "You can't even sing! I'll bet it was your little boyfriend's doing, Creepy Crusa. Aion Castov is his elder brother, right?" Claire circled around her, a shark and its prey. "It would've been easy for your little lap dog to slip in a word, wouldn't it? Soooo easy. And he wouldn't even have to tell you about it. Just a little behind the scenes help. Always useful." Everyone else had moved away, sensing Claire's mood.

"Sorry to disappoint your blackmail Claire," the herd of students gasped, looking to the stairs where Chrono was leaning casually in the shadows. "But I'm estranged. Aion Castov and I are enemies. Bitter rivals. No help from me there."

"M-my God!" One of the girls behind Rosette squeaked to her friend.

"He looks so..." the friend squealed back. Claire gaped as Chrono strode over, relaxed as could be, with no sign of his normal, cringing self.

"C-Creepy D-D'Crusa!" Claire croaked, her eyes enormous. Rosette felt somewhat the same way. She hadn't seen Chrono that morning. She wished he'd given her a chance too, so she wouldn't look like the rest of the idiots with their mouths to their knees. Unfortunately, she did look like that, even after seeing him dressed in his work clothes before. But these weren't his work clothes. He was wearing the baggy black jeans he normally did, but instead of a sweater, he was wearing one of the black shirts he liked, the ones that clung, very tight, highlighting his chest... The combination made Rosette want to strangle everything female who dared to look at him. It...she was blabbering like an idiot! It was just Chrono, and besides, she liked the tight black jeans better. Much sexier. Still...she was gaping! Quickly, Rosette shook her head, resisting the urge to go and hug him- or, more likely, pound his head in for dressing like that in school. It was a friggin' health hazard, a fact which became evident as they walked to class. Guys whispered darkly amongst themselves and the girls were acting like idiots, bumping into each other- and glaring at Rosette.

"What are you doing?" she hissed to him. He looked surprised.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, you idiot! Your clothes!" Chrono glanced at his reflection as they passed a window.

"I was late getting up. I had to get the kids ready to go. I forgot my sweater and didn't have time to braid my hair. Why? I'm sorry if I'm embarrassing you. Do I look that bad?" he looked honestly worried, rummaging in his pocket for an elastic or string to tie his hair back.

"ARE YOU THAT STUPID!" Rosette whisper-shrieked as two girls collided in the classroom. "Jeez! I was wrong when I first thought you have no fashion sense. You have no sense of what you're doing to people at all!" How he couldn't know, she had no idea, but if he was feigning ignorance, he was doing a darn good job. "Chrono-"

"Ms. Christov, if you would take your seat." Rosette froze as Ms. Valentine sailed into the classroom.

"Y-yes ma'am!" She dove into her seat behind Chrono and tried to hide behind him. "We'll be starting on page 35 and reading to 64. Do questions 1 - 95 on page 65. Begin." If it had been any other teacher, the class would've grumbled. Had it been any other teacher, they would've whined.

Had they done that in Ms. Valentine's science class, they'd find themselves with detention for the next month quicker than Kino and Marie could find something to argue about. No doubt of it, the teacher was a strict hag. So, stifling any possible complaints, Rosette put her head down and started reading. Well, she tried to. It was hard to concentrate when she knew the other girls in class kept sneaking peeks and whispering about Chrono- who was completely oblivious to the fact. Geez, he was so dense. Of course, Rosette thought after a few minutes attempted reading, he was used to people whispering about him. He was the school's freak, and that meant lots of things whispered, lots of things said just loud enough to poke and needle. You'd get pretty good at ignoring such things after awhile. Rosette forced her eyes back onto the page. At the same time, Chrono shifted, and his hair, which he'd loosely braided, mainly to appease her temper fell from the braid and fanned across her desk. She pushed it aside, but her unruly eyes insisted on following the violet river back up over his back, up the slender neck... she shook her head. Stupid Chrono. Stupid, stupid Chrono. He had no business dressing this way in school! It was much, much too distracting.

And why was it distracting? A small voice in her head hissed, mocking her. Why does it matter what Chrono wears?

Because he was Chrono. And right now, dressed like he, he felt like someone different. He didn't look like a guy who'd be leave that day after school and go and work in a book store. He didn't look like he'd be leaving said job at a book store and going home to cook for a house full of boarders. He didn't look like he'd be leaving from there and going to work in a club until who knew what hour, a guy who'd put up with all that crap and more to take care of three children who's father was his enemy.

For once, Chrono looked like a normal guy, and that scared her, because all the 'normal' guys she'd met so far in this school were jerks. Real and royal jerks.

"Rosette? You alright?" she blinked. Chrono waved a thin hand in front of her face. "Hey. The bell for recess rang already and Ms. Valentine has a meeting." Rosette stood, pushing his hand aside.

"I have no intention of walking with you when you look like that." Chrono, to his credit, turned a very appealing shade of pink.

"Look," he ran a hand over his face, looking about as confused as Rosette had seen him. "What is wrong with the way I'm dressed? I know it isn't my normal style, and I have no intention of dressing like this on a regular basis, but give me a break. So I was in a hurry, so I look ugly as hell, I can't do anything about it now. I have to get to work right after school today, so-"

"You are so dense! Geez!" she exclaimed, glaring at a gaggle of gawkers who dared to look their way. "Chrono, you have no idea. Or you're just paranoid. But mostly, you're acting really, really stupid." she humphed.

"And you're making absolutely no sense."

"I'm not making any sense? I'm not the one who's completely oblivious to the fact that the entire female population is staring at them and looking like they want to eat them up! My God, do you ever look in a mirror Chrono? Geez, you look friggn'--friggin'...arg!"

"So, basically, you're telling me I'm acting like you?" Rosette spat out the mouthful of juice she'd taken along with a breath.

"What the heck is THAT supposed to mean!" she screeched, turning on him. Chrono fell back a step, but didn't seem the least bit surprised.

"Well," he shrugged. "You never seem to pay attention to the fact guys spend all class time drooling over you. And lunch time. And walking home from school. Not that I'm intentionally trying to act like you, but ignoring people is what I do. It would seem you also do the same, or," he said, cracking a faint smile. "you're as 'stupid' and 'dense' as I am, because guys seem to spend a lot of time gaping at you, and you don't notice at all."

"And how would you know, sitting up in front of me? Can you tell what they're thinking? Can you read their minds? Are you-" the words stopped there, but the look that crossed Chrono's face didn't.

"'psychic or something'?" he laughed, but the sound was pained and his voice held a note of something. Anger? Sadness? A bit of both? Had that been it, Rosette wouldn't have felt so...rotten. Had he been angry, she wouldn't have minded. Anger she could handle. Sadness? She'd feel rotten, but she could deal with that too. What she couldn't do was respond to the flash of vulnerability and remorse she saw before he turned and walked away.

"Chro-" before she could call him, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Ah, Miss Christov. Come along. We begin practice after recess, but you need to get acquainted with the rest of the cast." Rosette glared up into the face of Aion Castov briefly, glancing behind them to see where Chrono was. Luckily or not, he was nowhere in sight to see her hauled off to meet the rest of the cast.

Chrono closed his eyes. He could not take this, he could not take this, he could not take this.

Why did he have to wake up late again? True the wretched dreams were coming close to driving him insane, but he could handle that, he'd always handled them before.

Before a certain blonde girl invaded them. Chrono pressed his forehead to the dusty bookshelf he was supposed to be dusting. He'd acted so stupid. Very, very stupid. But he was still bothered. He was annoyed that Rosette had objected to the clothes he'd thrown on in his haste, but that wasn't the part he was worried about.

It was the fact he was hurt that she didn't like it that concerned him. And he'd acted stupidly because of it, let his emotions rule. Again. Stupid, stupid, stupid. It ran through his head, a mantra he'd grown up with. It didn't bother him since he agreed, he was.

But that still didn't give Rosette the right to mouth off about his outfit." I'm_ not making any sense? I'm not the one who's completely oblivious to the fact that the entire female population is staring at them and looking like they want to eat them up! My God, do you ever look in a mirror Chrono? Geez, you look friggn'--friggin'...arg!"_ she hadn't really said that, had she? It was so...no, it was very Rosette. Chrono sighed. He really was an idiot. If he had more time, then he would...he shook his head. No, no, no! He couldn't afford thoughts like _that_. Because thinking like that reminded him of how he felt noticing the way guys looked at her. And remembering that made him remember how he felt when he noticed that, and that was something he really didn't want to do. One did what one must.

And that was exactly what he planned to do, right down to keeping Rosette Christov out of whatever corner of his heart she seemed to have shrugged her way into.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Rosette wasn't sure who she expected to see as she walked into Aion's classroom. It was the one she and Brad had auditioned in, but this time there were more people, people who included Azmaria, Joshua, Viede, Satella, Fi, Roy and Brad. Ms. Harvenhiet was standing off to the side with Aion's funny secretairy who once again was wearing a hat that covered most of her face.

"Rosette!" Az squealed, racing over and hugging her. "I can't believe you didn't tell us you got the lead. I didn't even know I had a part until Mr. Castov told me- I get to plat my great-grandmother! Isn't that astounding? Joshua's playing Father Remington, but that's still cool. Did you know Joshua is named for his great-grandfather? And-"

"Azmaria, slow down!" Rosette said. Her smile faded when Brad came over. He held out a hand, a smile on his would-be-handsome-if-she-didn't-hate-his-guts face.

"Hello, Rosette." he grinned at her. "Meet Brad the Sinner." Rosette rolled her eyes.

"I can't believe you got the lead. The play's doomed."

"Aw, don't be so harsh." Brad pouted.

"Now, now, don't get all upset before we even start." Aion smiled. "I see some of you have already met. Anyway, let's get started, shall we? First, Let's run through the list of who's who. Rosette Christov, you're playing Rosette. Brad, Chrono. Azmaria is playing Azmaria, Fi is playing Fiore, Joshua, Father Remington. Roy, you'll be playing Elder. Viede will be playing Aion. Satella, you'll be playing Satella- my how the name's are similar!- Sammy, you'll be playing Shader." he addressed a small, bookish type girl with thick brown hair in twin braids. Not what Rosette thought of as Shader material, judging by the lines she'd read. Still, at the meantion of the name, the girl perked up. Aion meanwhile, continued down the list of the main parts. "The extras will be brought in sepratly", he informed them. "Let's get started, shall we? An don't mind the rest of them-" he pointed over his shoulder to where other students we being coached in set design, costuming, and sound and lighting tecniques. Yeah, that would be hard to ignor. Still, Rosette forced her mind back to what Aion -curse him- was saying. They would start with practicing their lines, as well as some of the songs, but they would also practice projection, etc, begining with a rendition of An Unlikely Story, the opening song to the musical. As of right now, there was no dancing, acting or backround, just them singing along withthat stupid whiney tape. Rosette couldn't wait until they had real peaople playing the music. Still, she could afford to get lost in the song. Then she wouldn't have to think about The Arguement, or that Brad was the leading male- she didn't even want to think about that scene at the end of part one...Brad began in his brassy, trashy voice to mangle and murder the male solo. The play wouldn't survive his expertly horrible voice. Well, if he was going to do it bad...

"Believe it! Believe it or not...

You'll never see somethings as strange as I have

A monster, a creature like I am...

a monster... "

Chrono resisted the strong urge to cover his ears. Even if they weren't extra sensitive, which, despite two years at Austy's, they were, he would've still wanted to, listening to Brad's singing.

"For I am something darker, something much stronger,

Something more bitter, something to fear---" Chrono mouthed the words- well okay, sang them, very, very softly. No one could hear him when he was over here in the shadows, fiddling with wires back stage. But he knew the words, and he could hear the words, the one's that, like the rest of the play, made his gut wrench in recognition.

"And yet---somehow--- things have changed, been so re-arranged,

Are you so bad as you say--?

Could a monster house a heart?

Could a monster have a soul?

Oh they may call it an unlikely story,

But it's true enough to me---" Chrono had stilled at the first echo of her voice. He'd heard her sing it before, hey, he'd sang the whole thing with her, over and over, until she got the feel right, knew the words so well she wouldn't think, just feel. that didn't seem to matter. It sounded different, crouching over here. More...

"A holy woman, so strong, so brave

Gave her soul to a demon that day,

He in return gave something unsure,

The love of a demon, should she have kept it away?" The chorus shook him, he hadn't expected it, not after Rosette's solo. Still, he waited. She would sing alone again. He closed his eyes and leaned back, allowing the music to wash around him, fill him. A shot of pain tore through him, then a second, a burning feeling, following his spine and clouding his vision. Chrono shook his head, curling into a ball. It hurt. IT HURT! He was used to this pain, he reminded himself. It happened all the time, came with the sight. He just had to... to...

"Why, can you not see?" Rosette sang, her voice anguished. "He's more than a demon. How could one so fair, so kind be one? The demons I know, the demons I hate, are nothing like this one, nothing at all---"

"So you say---, so you say--- but have youseen to the depths of my soul? It is an unlikely story, a nun and a demon---"

"But true-----" the last line was a harmonius line between the two of them, but Rosette couldn't look at Brad. How could he have ended up as the lead? Her eyes slipped back to the stage where, moments before, she'd been sure she'd seen a motion behind the curtains, heard a sound, a dart of violet. She'd hoped she had, but it was nothing. At this rate, she thought, waiting while Aion disgussed voice techniques with Brad and nursing a headache, she'd go home at the end of the school year alive. Deaf, crazy, but alive. That was one bonus point. She just wished she didn't have a whole play to go through first.

A/N: well, hate me. You all had to know that was coming. But don't give up hope on the play yet. After all, all good shows rely on the people back stage, and some of them may have to come out front and centre when you least expect it... Ah well! What will happen next? I have no idea, but I hope you like whatever it is! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, you're all great, fantastic and a million other wonderful things! S.Neko-Chan! v


	20. It's Pretty

A/N: Wow! I spent a bit of time checking the stats section. I only just discovered it yesterday. I can't believe how many hits there are. WHY AREN'T YOU ALL REVIEWING? evil look However (fixes hair and glasses) for those of you who did: I love you! I love writing, and I love you, so let's get this chapter started! And yah, yah, I know, again with Austy's. But it's the perfect place for fun, danger and a little cc craziness! So, bear with me! And oh yes, I should be freaking out: IT'S CHAPTER 20! WAHOO! I'm soooo happy! Please review, I need to know what you think!

Chapter 20!

_Golden covered her mouth, watching the teen writhe in pain. She could feel it, she could remember it. _

_The agonizing burn that went with particularly important visions. The warning ones, the one's you couldn't deny. The one's that made you wonder if you'd live past them. In life, she had been with him during some of them, and he'd been with her. She had known how it would end, how she would die, but watching his face afterwards had been...tearing, ripping, even as she knew what was to come._

_"I'm sorry." she whispered, not for the first time. "So sorry."_

_"You fool." Grey snapped, returning from his meeting. "He can't hear you. Even if he could hear you, his mind's caught. He wouldn't be able to sense or hear you, were you alive on his plain."_

_"I know sir." she whispered._

_"Fools." Grey muttered as he sat down and cast a quick look at the young angel. "Making the assignment this personal." Even stiff as he was, he knew Golden had had a hard time in all her human guises, knowing she would make Chrono the demon fall in love with her, knowing she'd have to shatter the little hope he managed to build up in his oddly human demon heart. It could crush a soul. Grey scowled. If only, if only this time it would work! They'd brought them back so often..._

_Why did they always have to fight time? _

"Rosette! Hey, Rosette!" Rosette turned, glaring at Brad as he sauntered up. She'd just been stuck in acting class with him for the last hour. She had no desire to see him outside of then, especially when it meant taking up her lunch hour. She wanted to go and eat, wondering what Chrono had stuck in her bag this morning. She did not need Brad to ruin it. Unfortunately, he didn't get the message and strolled along beside her to the cafeteria.

"Go away." she snapped. And where was Chrono anyways? They'd met over the past week and ate lunch with the others, but she hadn't seen him anywhere, not even in the library where he did his homework.

"Aw Rosette, I know you don't like how I sing, but c'mon! I got picked, didn't I? We have to spend a few months working on the play together. Can't we at least make it enjoyable?"

"Sure we can. Drop out. Mouth the words. Get someone to take your place. Anything but sing."

"You're harsh."

"You suck at singing." They stood in the hall outside the lunchroom, glaring at each other. Then Brad tipped his head to the side.

"You're really pretty, y'know that?"

"Don't you dare flirt with me, you jerk!" Rosette snarled, turning to enter the room. Brad caught her arm.

"Alright then, I'll be direct. Will you go out with me? The entire cast has to go and perform tonight at the club who's sponsoring the program. You included. Will you go with me?"

"I have work." The statement was out of Rosette's mouth before she could think. Yes, it was true, she did, but she hadn't thought it'd sunk in deep enough for her to use it as an excuse. A familiar escape excuse, she noted with a grimax.

Chrono used it all the time.

"From ten 'til twelve?" Brad looked dubious.

"No." Rosette groaned. "But I'm not going out with you!"

"You are performing tonight though."

"Not if I don't have to. Where is it, anyway? I need to avoid it at all costs."

"We all have to do it. Mr. Castov is marking our stage performance."

"Rosette!" Azmaria raced over. "Rosette! Oh. Hi Brad!" The smaller girl grabbed Rosette and pulled her to their table. See you at Austy's!" she called to him, waving, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Austy's?" Rosette screeched as they sat down. "And what's with you? The guy's a jerk!"

"Aw Brad's not that bad Rosette." Joshua snorted, waving his hand. "You're just annoyed because he insulted Chrono."

"And why doesn't that bother you? He's your land lord!"

"He's none of our concern." Satella shrugged. "He's just our land lord. So what if people think he's weird. It's true. Apparently, he collapsed last period. Something about a pain in his head. I think the guy's nuts myself."

"How can you say that!" Az cried, waving her fork in agitation and spearing Viede. Satella might've answered, but she was busy trying to get her breath from within Rosette's headlock.

"You are such a btch!" Rosette growled, tightening her hold with one hand while she threw a handful of carrots at Joshua. "And you- you're just as bad! How can you say that! I thought we were friends! All of us, Chrono included!"

"We are friends." Satella said as Rosette loosened her hold. "He- well- Chrono- he's just a little bit too odd. For our group. Sure he's a nice guy and all but when he goes funny, like when he gets a vision well-" Satella blushed, twisting her spoon into a weird shape. "It's kind of scary." she confessed. Everyone stared at her. Satella? Scared? Rosette shook her head. That was the craziest thing she'd ever heard! Satella's eyes flashed. "Oh come on!" she snapped. "You guys get scared too!" she glowered at the others. Fi, Joshua, Viede and Az all nodded slowly.

"It is kind of scary." Az murmured. Rosette snorted.

"Oh come on! I know it's scary! Damn it! You didn't see him when they tested him, when they hooked him up to those machines and-" she covered her mouth, trying to stop both the words and the memories. "I know its scary." she said finally. "But it isn't his fault. None of it is. He's just a guy who ended up with a lot of crap thrown at him. The last thing he needs is us acting like jerks around him." When everyone else looked satisfyingly sheepish, she remembered what Satella had said. "Wait! Chrono collapsed!" Az jumped up.

"That's right! I was supposed to tell you, but I forgot! Oh, I'm so sorry! He blacked out last period! Ms. Valentine found him! I-"

"It's perfectly fine." Az stilled as a hand descended on her shoulder. Chrono's smile was strained, and he looked like he had a hell of a headache, but he was smiling. Rosette let out her breath. He was also not unconscious.

"What happened?" she asked as he sat down.

"Nothing unusual. Just one of my spells. Like Nina's in the park."

"Nina didn't black out."

"Nina doesn't have a sasifryin' amplifier in her neck." he said with a loose shrug that told her he had no plans of talking anymore about it or what he'd seen. Stupid idiot. Rosette did the first thing she thought of: she grabbed his arm.

Just like at the park, she felt like she was being sucked in, falling into blackness. Faintly, she heard a gasp, but then all she knew was it hurt. And that there were bells tolling. She could smell smoke too, lots of it. Smoke, blood, fear. Someone was yelling. Another was crying. Someone was screaming. Where was she? She couldn't see anything! There was a sound ahead, and she spotted a door. Carefully, she went to open it.

"Rosette! No." someone pulled her back, wrapping shadowy arms around her. "You can't go in there and see. If you do, I won't be able to pull you out. You'll be trapped by the sight, just like me, and, you'll wrap me tighter in the web." Rosette turned around, catching the shadowy hands and meeting her rescuer's eyes.

"Chrono?" she whispered, for there was no mistaking the voice, though it was slightly deeper, or the gold and red eyes, or the violet hair, but he still looked different.

For one thing, he had wings. Big black ones, like she'd seen on demons in books. And horns. Not crooked, like the one's in books, but definitely horns. Beneath them were long, pointy ears, with tufts on the ends that made her want to scratch them. She looked at his hands. Claws. She could see those when she looked carefully, but they were gentle and warm, and she knew he wouldn't hurt her, ever." It's_ been said he's got a devil soul."_ "Chrono, it is you, I know it is but-" she reached up to circle the jewels on his forehead, three of them, in the shape of a triangle. Something was wrong. Something was missing. When he'd spoken, she'd seen fangs. For some reason, she'd known they were supposed to be there. Her hands knew. They circled around to the base of his skull. Here. Something was supposed to be here. Something different from the swelling that made him shudder when she touched it. "Your-"

"No." he whispered softly, sorrow in his eyes as he pulled her hands away. "You mustn't."

"Rosette!" she opened her eyes, sitting up. "Don't do that!" Chrono chided, looking like he was torn between bawling, scolding her and hugging her. The latter would've been nice. It might get rid of the image of fright she saw before he realized she was alright. "Sassafras and Pepper corns! You can't just go and do that! Not when I'm open after a vision! You could get killed, you know that? I could trap you, even if I try not too! If you aren't careful, you could get sucked in with me!" He was shaking her, not hard, but enough to notice. Then he seemed to remember where they were, which was in the middle of the cafeteria, surrounded by very confused students. They were used to Chrono passing out, not other students.

"I bet he cursed her." Rosette heard at least one voice say.

"What is going on here?" Principal Maloney snapped, parting the students like a knife. He froze when he saw Chrono. "You. Too the office. And you-" He glared at Rosette. "Are you alright?" At her nod, he turned and took Chrono by the sleeve. "Come with me." they were gone before Rosette of the others could open their mouths to say Chrono hadn't done anything. Rosette swore. What was with this day? She still had work and then homework and then singing at Austy's with Brad...AUSTY'S! Rosette grinned. Oh, this was alright! Chrono worked at Austy's, meaning she could hide with him, and not have to be any where near Brad! Excellent! Smiling to herself, Rosette skipped off to homeroom, getting some pretty odd looks as she did.

The news of the curse was spreading fast.

Late, late, late again! Rosette swore as she hauled a nicer dress over her head. It had taken way too long to walk home after work, and now she was going to be late because she'd dawdled! She had to get to Austy's before anyone else did, so she could go find a place to hide. She'd wanted to go with Chrono, but he'd been and gone, for the kids were staying with Mr. Remington that night.

Late, late, late. She tore down the street and on to Austy's. How long had Chrono said it would take? An hour? And why had the others gone without her? Stupid jerks.

"Y'know, this is becoming a habit." Chrono grumbled as he pulled up next to her. "You really aught to tell me when you're tagging along to work with me. Saves me the trip back. And you the walk." Rosette clambered on behind him, grinning as they coasted down the hill.

"And miss you coming to pick me up? Not a chance. It's kind of romantic. How'd you know, anyway?"

"The rest of the cast's looking for you, thank you very much. And they're blaming me for the fact you're late. Something about a curse. I'm guessing from lunch time." From the pinched sound of Chrono's voice, he'd gotten hell for whatever people thought he'd done.

"Sorry. I had to get dressed." she said as they parked. "What do you think?" she grinned, turning around so he could see the full view of the very black, very small black dress she'd chosen to wear.

It would've done both Satellas proud. Chrono, however, gave her a quick once over and shrugged.

"It's pretty. OW!" he howled as Rosette's unleashed fury- or fists at least- hit him in the head.

"PRETTY? THAT'S ALL YOU'VE GOT TO SAY ABOUT IT!" she shrieked. "It's pretty!" Chrono looked hurt, but that might've been something to do with the fact she'd probably just given him a black eye. Oops. Still, a jerk deserved it!

"It's very pretty. Just not something I think of you as wearing." he shrugged. Once again, Rosette had to wonder if Claire had been right.

"Oh thanks. And you're one to talk, Mr. Gross-at-school-but-sexy-at-work! Who says I can't dress up in black and leather too!"

"That's different! I dress this way so I fit in at work!"

"And maybe I'm working tonight! I, unlike you, am going to let the world know I can sing. And what're you going to be doing? Serving drinks and playing back up for the rest of your life? Why don't you get a girlfriend and grow up!" She regretted the words as soon as they popped out of her mouth. All of them. Chrono looked like he was about to say something. He opened his mouth, but clamped it shut again, turning and stalking inside.

"Miss Rosette!" Aion came outside. "How kind of you to join us." he took her arm and led her inside the club. The atmosphere was similar to last Friday's but without the competitive edge. There were no bands competing, only a group of students who all were performing in a play that made no sense but had happened. She could see the others, but Chrono had vanished. Rosette groaned. Just her luck to have blown her one and only chance of hiding out for the evening.

And her chance of questioning Chrono about what she'd seen in her 'vision' in the cafeteria. Actually, the way things looked now; it looked like she'd blown her chance of doing much of anything with Chrono, including being friends.

Friends didn't hit on each other's sore spots just because of a stupid comment about their clothing. She'd struck a low blow, and she knew it. Feeling lousy, she looked around and caught sight of Chrono behind the counter. Quickly, she waved and walked over, but he ignored her. Fine then! He'd see! She was sixteen. She was gorgeous -he'd said as much himself, earlier, though at the time it wasn't really taken or given as a compliment- and she was single. And she was in a club, ready to party, because it was too long since she had.

"Hey Rosette!" Brad came over, Pepsi in hand. "You set to go?" Rosette plastered a smile on her face.

"Ready?" she practically dragged him to the stage. "I've been ready for ages. Let's go!" she waved at Chrono, fluttering her eyes than making a face that had Just-watch-me-cuz-you-lost-your-chance written all over it, although when Chrono had taken the chance, or when she'd expected and/or wanted him too, she didn't know. Heck, did she want him too? She shoved the question from her mind and swept onto the stage, swallowing a gulp as she looked out over the crowd. Think music, she told herself. Think you can do this. Think sexy.

Think Chrono can go to hell with his "it's not what I think of you as wearing". That thought did the trick. Striking a pose more sexy than necessary, Rosette snatched the mike from a surprised Brad, smiling and flashing her lashes at him.

"You lot ready to play? She asked, running a hand through her hair. The crowd cheered. She cast a look to the counter as she started singing.

Despite the fact every guy in the room was staring at her and howling like a pack of wolves, _he_ wasn't. At least, not that she could see, although, the fact that she couldn't see him anywhere might've had something to do with it. She snorted to herself. Who cared what that idiot did! He was a jerk. She took a swig of Brad's Pepsi between songs and went on, belting out any pop song that came to her head, well, any song at all. Brad and the others kept up with her gamely, until, an hour and eight cans of pop later, Az, Joshua, Satella and Viede gave up, with them all the rest but her and Brad. Brad's caterwauling was as horrible as before, but, seeing as she had no one else to sing with, he'd have to do.

At least he's not too cowardly to sing. She decided. She surged into the next song, one about a drunken sailor, trying not to giggle. She wasn't entirely successful, but who cared about such things. The crowd seemed to like it.

She can do what she wants, she's sixteen, she's not your kid (or girlfriend) so don't get all up and bothered. Just as they had for the past hour, the words did nothing to calm him. Chrono grit hit teeth, trying to ignore his now pounding head. Sassafras that attack he'd had earlier! The stupid things made it hard to 'close down' his reception so he wouldn't pick up other people's auras, thoughts and emotions. So hard, that at the moment, he was a sponge. If this went on much longer, he'd be so full of other people's baggage, he'd be squished out. Gone. Kaput. He didn't know if that could actually happen, but it sure felt like it. It didn't help that a particular girl was up on the stage, dancing, singing and flirting with vengeance. She was pissed at him; he knew that. If he was any more himself, he might've been pissed at her too. He'd had reason to be...but he was too tired to try to remain annoyed. It was taking all his will power not to kill Brad. He was in enough trouble with the school principal as it was, without killing his son. He didn't need that, although watching _Rosette_ flirt with him was coming close to making him ill. "_It's pretty."_ Oh yes, the dress was pretty. On her, it was more than stunning. It was mind freezing. He'd said that, mainly because he was trying to keep himself from saying anything else that might lead to not so good thoughts. Like that she was the most beautiful girl in the world. And that anyone who hurt her would be very sorry. And the very annoying question in the back of his head that maybe, just maybe, if he asked her out...

Sassafras and Peppercorns. Chrono actually froze for a moment. He hadn't thought that. He hadn't. Someone tell him he hadn't. Chrono clenched his fists. No. It was long past time he got control of himself.

Maybe he never had it. He was beginning to wonder. He was also very worried. Rosette was right; he didn't want to spend the rest of his life singing backup. He never had. But he couldn't get a girlfriend.

He would have to tell her the truth. There was no other choice. _Drink. Spiked. Stage. Now._ Chrono's head snapped up. Rosette was up on the stage, singing a song that was more giggle than words. Chrono said something under his breath that wasn't sassafras and pushed his way into the crowd, ignoring the jumble of emotions and auras that flooded him.

Rosette croaked out the last words of the song, taking another swig of the drink Brad had given her. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all. Still, she felt funny, like the world beneath her wasn't where she thought it was.

"You want to call it quits?" Brad asked, taking her arm. Rosette shook her head.

"S'ok." she mumbled, pulling away from Brad. He was alright, but she wouldn't let him touch her more than necessary. Pulling away, however, proved to be a mistake, as she misjudged her footing and fell off the stage. It wasn't that far, but it was far enough it would hurt. Slowly, she tried to put out her hands to catch herself, but it wasn't working. She was moving sideways. Rosette dragged her eyes open.

"I think you've done enough for one night." Chrono noted, setting her down in a room behind the counter.

"Is she alright?" Austy asked, wringing his hands. Rosette watched a loose hank of purple hair bob as Chrono nodded. Austy let out a sigh, but he was interrupted when Aion, Benji and the entire acting crew poured in. The actors clamoured around Rosette, concerned she'd blacked out. Aion sidled up next to Chrono.

"Selling drinks to under age students, little brother. My, my, aren't you naughty." Benji narrowed his eyes at Aion.

"You know full well she was on the stage all evening Aion. I wouldn't let her drink if I knew she was." Chrono said coldly. Benji had never heard him sound that stony, even kicking people out. Aion. Benji recognised him from his job as a news anchor, but this man was Chrono's brother? "Can she stay back here for now?" Chrono asked Austy. "We're closing soon, and I can give her a run."

"What about us? Satella asked. "How're-"

"I'll drive you home." Austy groaned. "Sorry about this Benji. I have to go pick up Shader again. C'mon, lets go. Chrono? I know you don't want to let her outta your sight, but could you watch the place? Fav. for-"

"Yeah, yeah. Just get them back to my place. They've got keys." Chrono turned and went back into the bar.

"You going to let him get away?" Aion asked Benji. The cop shrugged.

"Wasn't his fault. You with them sir? Might have to talk t'ya about allowing them to drink anyway." Chrono smiled to himself as he resumed his spot behind the counter as he heard Aion's attempts of backing himself out of the corner he'd gotten himself into. But Aion was right...it was partly his fault. And what if Rosette had really been hurt? What if she went near the wrong guy? What if, what if, what if! Chrono sighed. He would have to keep a close eye on her, whether either of them liked it or not.

He'd never survive the guilt trip if anything happened to her.

A/N: Well. That chapter was weird. I really didn't like it that much, and I know Aion probably wouldn't strike such an obvious attack...unless he was planning something else! I hope you like it, but whatever you think, let me know!


	21. A Bit of Saturday Fluff

A/N: Hello, here I am again. If you like this, don't worry, I'll be back, many, many times. If you don't like it...why are you here? - Well, you can be where you like, so that's cool. Well, here I am, it's chr 21, and I must be insane for writing this much, but I really don't care how long it is, I love writing! And drawing. And getting covered in black ink! (which turns pink with water. Go figure)

Chr 21: A bit of Saturday fluff!

_Golden smiled. Well, It hadn't turned out too badly...no one had gotten killed, although she'd worried Chrono would lose his head when he found out about the drink... he seemed to have calmed down on the protection front. Or had he? She had to wonder._

Rosette scrunched her eyes shut again and rolled over. She was going to kill the person who was pounding her on the head with a mallet; she really was, as soon as she really woke up. What time was it anyway? She turned towards the clock on the desk, but there was someone in front of it, so she couldn't tell...

THERE WAS SOMEONE IN HER ROOM! With a small screech Rosette sat up and slammed on the bedside lamp, instantly regretting both actions as the intensity of her headache shot off the chart and as the contents of her stomach raced up to see the light again.

Luckily for whoever was doing the laundry that week, the room's other occupant had quick reflexes or a low but accurate expectation of how her stomach would take last night's festivities, for he shoved a bucket onto her lap and she threw up into that.

"Blerg...ulk, _yuck!_ Thanks." She said sheepishly when she'd finished puking. Chrono, to his credit, didn't look the least bit bothered and handed her a glass of water and an aspirin.

"Rinse out your mouth first. Then take the pill." Rosette spat out a mouthful of water and glared at him.

"Does nothing faze you?" She grumbled, popping the little white pill in her mouth and shuddering. Chrono smiled wryly.

"You learn to take and deal when you've got kids. It isn't the first time I've watched someone puke their guts out. Try three kids with the stomach flu. Now that's gross." Rosette put the bucket on the floor and lay back again, her headache subsiding, just a little.

"So what happens when you get sick?" she put her head back on her arms and watched him. He plucked absently at the guitar he had on his lap, silent for a moment.

'Well," he said. "I usually send them over to Mr. Remington's, the kids that is, so they don't get sick."

"So who looks after you?" He had papers stacked on her desk, and Rosette was glad she'd thought to hide her journal under her pillow. She didn't think he was the snooping type, but she had poked through his things, so in revenge...Chrono blinked at her.

"Like I said, you learn to take and deal."

"So you look after yourself? Even if you're really sick?" Chrono shrugged.

"If I have too. It's no big deal. Usually, it's nothing that'll keep me out of school. I just don't want the kids to get sick."

"But what if you were?" She didn't know why she was pressing this, but somehow, the thought of him looking after himself, being sick with no one worrying whether he was alright was kid of...sad.

"Then I'd-"

"Take and deal, yes I know." she sat up. "But you didn't let me do that." Chrono's cheeks were turning pinker by the moment.

"I-well, I thought, since it was my fault that I should-"

'And how was it your fault? Brad was the one giving me the drinks. You aren't my father. And you weren't watching anyway."

"Not the drinks." Chrono said, and Rosette wasn't sure how to read his tone of voice.

"What if it was one of the others? Would you be sitting with them?" Chrono bit his lip.

"If it were Az or Fi, if they ever got sick. But Fi wouldn't need it because Joshua would be there, so I guess Az." Rosette stiffened, Az? He liked Az? The little pipsqueak was barely older than Marie for Pete's sake! Was Chrono like Ms. Harvenhiet? Chrono rolled his eyes. "I can see where this is going. Az is like a kid sister. A sibling."

"Like yours? The one who died?" Rosette wanted to clap her hand over her mouth. Just when they were actually getting somewhere!

"No. Not like her at all." he avoided her eyes and pulled back the curtains to see out. "Az isn't like her at all, and I'm glad."

"So...I'm like a sibling too?" He thought of her like a sister? Well, that would explain most of what went on. Siblings argued about clothes and boy/girlfriends, and some could be overprotective. Chrono would fall under that category. She clenched her fists. That over-protective, stick in the mud, self-blaming idiot! How- he was sitting on the bed in front of her, a very odd look on his face. He looked confused, as if he knew what he had to do and he wasn't sure whether to do it or not.

Or, he knew exactly what he shouldn't do and he was going to do it. Rosette shivered. She could almost feel that thought turning through him. She was trying to decide whether to move away or touch him when his warm, guitar callused fingers crept over and tucked her bangs back behind her ears.

"Sisters...are nice..." His fingers lingered in her hair for a moment before he seemed to give himself a shake and moved, but she captured his hand in hers. Wow. She studied his hand. It was much larger then hers, longer, and thinner. They almost seemed out of proportion, but that made sense. Boys developed later than girls, so he still had a good couple years growth left. He'd be tall, she decided, if his hands were any indication. That was alright. Tall guys were nice. She looked up from his hand and met his eyes.

"Yooouuu half dalkness in yowr fuutar." she moaned, grinning at him. His mouth quirked, sensing the joke, but his eyes had gone dark, as if she'd reminded him of something. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, then to her surprise, bent his head so his forehead rested on her shoulder. Rosette sucked in a breath as her shoulder felt like it had burst into flame. Chrono's free hand had clenched, tight enough his nails had drawn blood.

"Sisters are nice." he whispered. Rosette parted his hair around the amplifier in his neck.

"We all have darkness. The trick isn't being fearless, it's facing your fears and moving foreword. Wasn't that Rosette's mentality in Not So Good, Not So Evil? She was scared, but she pushed on ahead." Rosette wasn't sure what they were talking about now. "Don't you remember? You told me how to read them." Chrono pulled away, leaning back against the wall.

"I remember." he said softly. "In more ways than one, but I remember..." he shook his head and stood, picking up the bucket." I'll send Az back up with this later, but I think you'll be fine now. You have work today, but that's not until later, so take it easy. If you really don't feel well, call in sick." Rosette grinned.

"Yes dad. Lay off will you?" Chrono blushed, darting from the room. He was gone only a second then was back in the doorway. Rosette looked up from Letters from Hell. Chrono smiled weakly.

"Sorry. I...I meant to tell you. Well, it doesn't really have anything to do with you but- well...I got a phone call from the hospital the other day. I made it onto the waiting list to get this," he touched the swelling at the back of his neck. "removed, if that's at all possible." he scooted away before she could say anything.

A/N: All right, that had pretty little on plot, point and reason, but I wanted to write it, all right? Everyone has scenes like that, the ones you know no one will like but you have to write it anyway, so sorry! The next chapter is a little more important, so please hang on. Consider this a break from the story for a little while before continuing with the plot. That's not true. Some things came up in this chapter, but more on those later. Also, thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter, both the ones who've been reviewing constantly and the ones who just started. I'm really, really happy you took the time to write me, so THANK YOU!


	22. St John's Order

A/N: Hi! Ok...this is kind weird. Y'see, A Bit of Saturday Fluff (last chr) was thrown in just for the point of throwing it in...-- This chapter was originally going to be chapter 21, but now it's 22...I'm sorry. If you didn't like 21, I just had to write it... I'm sorry. Anyway, here is what started out as chr 21 but is now chapter 22, and it has a bit more plot-oriented stuff then the last chapter. I hope you enjoy it. Also, at the time I'm writing this A/N, I have 101 reviews. (Falls over in shock) well, the story is really long... but still! I'm so happy! It means I want to write more! However, that doesn't mean you should stop reviewing...HINT HINT! also, it's never too late to start. (Hopeful grin) Bu thank you to everyone who did review! You rock! You're perky. I love you!

Places: The Basilica: is the Roman Catholic cathedral in St. John's. Most of what I write about it will be fictional because I've never been in the place. There were two convents, Mercy and Presentation, nuns who came over to be teachers.

Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah.

_Golden and Grey stared at the group. What on earth were they up to now? Then Grey gasped. _

_"I never even thought!" _

_"What?" Golden asked, puzzled at the other angel's surprise._

_"Watch." _

Chapter 22: The St. John's Order

"Uncle Chrono, where are we going?" Kino asked, his perpetual whine very audible.

"Sh!" Chrono hissed, balancing all their backpacks.

"Uncle Chrono!" Marie glared at him. "Why are we leaving so early? Nina didn't have a vision today!" Rosette groaned.

Why had she come to the park with Chrono and the pipsqueaks? It was Sunday, early afternoon, and they were leaving the park much sooner than they normally did, a fact that Kino and Marie were quick to point out.

"I have some research to do," Chrono said, smiling. "I'm sorry we have to leave early, but this is the only day I can get to do it." The kid's sighed and sullenly followed Chrono.

"Where _are_ we going?" Rosette asked. In truth, she was just as curious, for Chrono had been adamant about her coming. Chrono twisted, and pulled a sheaf of papers from his bag.

"I already said. We're going to do a little research. I found these at the library," he flipped through the print offs of old news papers, handing them to Rosette as he pulled Nina away from the road. Rosette scanned the titles, mostly about mysterious disappearances, ghosts and accidents.

"I don't remember having to look up any of this for class!" Rosette cried, panicking. Had she forgotten a major assignment already? Chrono laughed, keeping himself between Kino and Marie.

"No." he looked at the trees, well into their fall colours. "I was doing it for myself."

"You're insane!" Rosette grumbled, weighing the papers against her backpack. "My land lord is insane." when she looked back, Chrono quickly hid his kicked-puppy expression by talking to Kino.

"Yeah, well, people would agree with you there. I guess it's true. I wonder about it sometimes. Anyway," Chrono went on. "I was curious about the Magdalen order." Rosette actually stopped, and Nina walked straight into her, toppling over.

"Sorry, sorry!" Rosette yelped, picking the child up and trying to get her to stop crying. Chrono came over and took her, but the second he stepped away from Kino and Marie, they started arguing.

Rosette was very glad she didn't have the hangover she'd had yesterday, but she was beginning to get another headache. They seemed to come with Chrono and his brood. "WILL YOU TWO LITTLE BRATS SHUT UP!" she bellowed at Kino and Marie. "Don't you have anything to do with each other besides arguing! There's enough going on without it, so stop it!" They walked in silence until Chrono stopped them in front of a very, very large church. Chrono looked around.

"This is it." he said quietly. "The Basilica, the Roman Catholic cathedral in St. John's." Rosette gaped at the building for a moment, from it's huge stonework, to the statues out front to the two, tall, stone worked towers. "And those" he pointed to two buildings. "Are known as the convents of Mercy and of Presentation. History says that both came over as teachers."

"And you think different?" Rosette asked. She couldn't help feeling a little sceptical about this. Chrono shrugged.

"I'm going on instinct here. And that these stories in the paper are just a tad thin. And that there are nuns interviewed in every one of them. I mean, I know they were common, but in every location? Just at the right time? And look at this one." he pulled out a blown up picture of a nun talking to a reporter. It was very grainy, but Rosette could still see the woman was hiding something behind her back, with just a dark hint pointing out. "No, I want to do a little research on the Magdalen order. Come on." Calm as could be, Chrono led them up to the church. It was just after the first service, Chrono had checked the time carefully as not to barge in on anyone's religious practice. "Hello?"

"This place is big." Kino hissed to Marie. Nina's eyes widened. She raced forward and latched herself onto Chrono's legs.

"Uncle Chr-"

"I know Nina." he gave her a hug, and Rosette noticed he took a deep breath before stepping through the doors. Something was wrong, but before she could ask, a short, round man hobbled over.

"Hello?" he called, a warm voice that was friendly despite it's creak of age. Rosette sighed. She'd been worried it'd be some tall stiff guy. This fellow didn't seem too bad. Chrono waved.

"Hi." he said, but his voice was strained. "Um I'm Chrono, and this is Rosette."

"Father Patterson." Chrono and the father shook hands before they moved further inside. Father Patterson frowned. "I have the strangest feeling I've seen you two before. Have we met?" Chrono shook his head.

"I don't think so. I- well, we, came because we're curious about the Magdalene Order." Father Patterson's face went white.

"There's no..." his eyes widened. "Good Gracious! Come with me." The five now puzzled answer seekers followed the priest into a room behind the alter, then down some stairs. They went further and further, and with each step, Rosette could hear Chrono's breath getting shallower. Finally, they turned off onto a hallway then into a large, cavernous room. "we were told never to let people in here." Father Patterson said quietly. "However. You seem to be special cases. This is our record room, where we keep an account of all our history here in St. John's, but we also do much of the history keeping for all the branches, mainly because we don't have such a demon population here. Have a seat." Chrono and the kids settled onto a large rug, and Rosette cleared a chair.

"You're wondering about Chrono the Sinner and Rosette Christopher." as if sensing their surprise, Patterson pulled out a photocopy of the picture Azmaria had. "You go to Magdalen high, don't you? You two really do look like Rosette and Chrono who were in the order." he sighed. "I was six when Ms. Christopher died, but I still remember. I never met Chrono, but I stayed at Seventh Bell orphanage with Rosette for three years. An amazing woman." he shook his head. "When I knew her, she was very frail, so I couldn't picture her as an exorcist once I entered the Order and learned it's history, but I heard the stories." Patterson stood and paced.   
"Ms. Christov, was it? Well, we don't believe in reincarnation, kind of throws us off, I mean, with heaven and all. But," he looked hard at them. "I do wonder sometimes. I wonder if maybe God had a purpose, putting a demon and a nun together, hearts tied stronger then their contract. Perhaps he was trying to unite us all, for peace. However, much as I wish it's worked, demons still abound... more in secret now, of course. We've got them under control. But I still feel bad for those two. Him being a demon, they would be separate for eternity...unless the Good One had another plan." he handed Rosette the papers he'd been shuffling. "That aught to tell you some information about Rosette. There really isn't much about Chrono, however," he glanced at the boy. "You may learn." Chrono looked away, his eyes flickering strangely in the dim light.

"So...there really was a Magdalen order, and there really are demons?" Rosette whispered. Father Patterson nodded.

"Yes."

"And Rosette and Chrono really existed?"

'They did." Rosette sat and stared at the papers in her hands. "Well. What do you think, Chrono?" she turned to her friend, who was sitting on the floor, unusually still. "Chrono?" He shook himself, but still seemed somewhat out of it.

"So, is this branch still functioning?" he asked, shushing Kino and Marie as they were about to argue over who's sow bug was bigger. Chrono relieved them of the terrified two bugs and gave them a slightly reproving glare. Patterson looked amused at the whole incident before returning to the conversation.

"This is a small branch of the order, so we're stretched pretty thin, but yes, the order is still active here. It's still working in secret, of course, can't have people knowing that there're demons running about, even if they aren't attaching or causing damage." Patterson stood. "Would you like to see the weapons room? Again, I'm not supposed to, but..."

"Yes!" Rosette exclaimed, shocking herself and the others. "I mean, yes, that would be nice." Rosette leapt up. "Coming Chrono?" she gushed, too hyper to even bother hiding it. Chrono shook his head.

"If you don't mind," he murmured, flipping through the papers Patterson had given Rosette. "I'll stay here." Patterson smiled.

"You go right ahead. And you three?" he bent to the kids.

"We want to go with Aunt Rosette and you!" Kino cheered. "I want to see your guns n' stuff!"

"That alright with you, Chrono?" Father Patterson asked. Nina cast a worried look at her uncle, but Chrono smiled.

"Sure, that's alright. Just make sure they don't get into trouble, ok Rosette?" Rosette nodded and bounded off after Father Patterson.

The weapons room was a large, brightly lit cavern like room, full of racks of guns, missiles and even some old-fashioned style holy war tools such as crosses and bottles of holy water.

"These are all the things we use to combat demons. It's a dangerous job, but with our technology, we're better adapt at protecting the area from demonic and otherworldly threats." Sh-crash! They turned to see Kino and Marie standing innocently in a puddle of holy water and broken glass.

"She/he did it!" they cried, each pointing at the other. Rosette glowered at them.

"I'm very sorry," she said to Patterson. "If Chrono were here-"

"Oh, don't worry." Patterson smiled, waving a hand. "It was to be expected. I'm just glad they weren't harmed by the broken glass. Here you two, move away from there before you cut yourselves." The priest shepherded the two children away from the puddle and quieted them by giving them each a -plastic- bottle of holy water.

"We should go back." Nina said suddenly, walking to the door and standing by it. Rosette looked longingly at the gun rack, but caught sight of the look on the child's face.

"Ok, ok, I'm coming." she groaned and they traipsed back to the front hall. "Wait! Where's Chrono?"

"He stayed in the Record room," Patterson reminded her. "He's probably still there." Back down into lower levels they went, back to the Record room. Patterson knocked.

"Chrono? Your friends are leaving." Silences answer echoed in their ears. "Chrono?" the elderly priest opened the door, but before he even had it all the way open, Nina had barged past and into the room.

"Uncle Chrono!" She cried, kneeling next to him. She turned to the others, her eyes pleading as Kino and Marie gasped and ran to join her. "Aunt Rosette, do something, please!" Rosette gulped.

Chrono was lying on the floor, his legs half curled beneath him, his fingers gouging the floor, as if he'd been in pain. His face was bloodless, horribly white on the dark wood flooring.

"Uncle Chrono!" Kino called, giving his shoulder a slight, then harder shake. Chrono jerked then gasped in pain, causing Kino to scuttle back. The place on Chrono's shoulder where Kino had touched him welted red, looking like he'd been burned.

"Kino! Marie! Back away and don't touch him!" Father Patterson ordered, his croaking voice becoming more authorities Rosette crouched down, nudging Chrono's side, stiffening as she felt the feverish heat. "Rosette, do you think you can carry him, or support his weight? We have to get him out of the building."

"Out of the building?" Rosette squeaked, remembering the stairs. "Why?"

"I'll explain once we're there, but we must get him off the grounds!" Clenching her teeth, Rosette pulled Chrono's arm over her shoulder and wrapped her arm around his waist.

"Let's- go-" she grunted, heaving herself and her land lord towards the door, trying to ignore the way her heart trembled in her chest as his breathing grew weaker, fainter.

_Are you sure that's what you want?_ Rosette blinked. She'd heard that line before, but not in that tone. She watched her charge out of the corner of her eye as she struggled up the stairs trying very, very hard not to swear.

_You'd be in constant suffering, and your life would be short._ Her pulse quickened even more, and she hoped nothing else would happen, otherwise she'd have a heart attack. Chrono was trembling, like he was trapped in a nightmare.

"No." his voice was lower than a whisper, a gasped warning that Rosette would never had heard had she not been half carrying him up the steps.

_If so_ "Snap out of it, will you?" she grumbled, trying to stop the fragments of his thoughts from entering her. _Then I will make this contract with you. _ What was it Crusander had warned her? Or was it Chrono? That didn't matter, they were the same person, but he'd warned her that she might be sucked in.

Sucked into what? He seemed pretty absorbed himself.

"Go to the left, that door leads outside!" Patterson called from the bottom of the stairs. "Then walk out until you're past- damn these stairs- the wall. That's the outer part of the holy barrier." Rosette would've grinned to herself at the fact the priest had cursed if Chrono's breathing hadn't grown even more faint.

"Hold on, will you!" she snapped. She shouldn't be worried about him, but she'd long since realized the pointlessness of denying their reluctant friendship, or at least her feelings of wanting better for him. Wasn't that what friends did? Worried about each other? He worried about her, he'd come to see her when she wasn't feeling well. If he didn't worry about her then he wouldn't have, right?

Unless he just felt guilty, even if it wasn't his fault. The idiot did that too often, like how he always got all moody and regretful over their contract. Rosette froze for a second, then blinked as Kino opened the door letting the Sunday sunlight stream in.

Where had that come from? She was getting the play and real life mixed up, as was Chrono in his fevered state. His thoughts had turned her to the play and she was thinking like her character. Wasn't that supposed to be a problem for actors?

She nearly cheered when she was able to ease Chrono to the ground on the other side of the wall. She'd have to tell him to lose some weight if he was going to pass out so often. She inspected his bony wrists. Then again, maybe she had to work out a bit. Maybe she was weak. She sure was tired now though. Patterson staggered over, wheezing for breath.

"How is he? Is he doing any better?" Rosette could feel Chrono's breath become somewhat more regular. She shifted and leaned him against her side.

"Seems to be better. What happened?" Yes, she decided, his skin was cooler now too, and not nearly so pale. Patterson sat on the wall, frowning at the red mark on Chrono's shoulder, and at the scar visible on the boy's right arm.

"He has a demon's soul and he was in a church. The holy energies there must've been to much for him. A demon soul has to be very weak or very well controlled to go into a human's body, but either way, it's not as strong as it normally is, and that made him susceptible to the holy energy. In such a situation, a demon would pull inside himself to avoid death, that's his first instinct. His soul forgot it was in a human body and that withdrawing into it would possibly cause the body to fail. That's one of the reasons humans with demons souls die so young, but then, normally they're quite evil, so no one really misses them."

"Uncle Chrono's not evil!" Marie cried angrily. Patterson smiled.

"I know dear, I know. But he has a demon soul, and even if it's the soul of the purest hearted demon that existed, it still is in a delicate state." Rosette felt Chrono shift and she could barely contain a cheer as he blinked hazily on waking. The kids were not so subdued in their relief.

"Uncle Chrono!" the trio launched themselves at him pressing close and wriggling like puppies. Chrono laughed softly, hugging them, but he still seemed distant, like he wasn't completely there.

Thwack.

"Ow!" Chrono cried, rubbing his head where Rosette had hit him. "What was that for!" he gave her a dirty look but Rosette just smiled sweetly.

"For forcing me to carry you up all those stairs. Sheesh. Being as skinny as you are, I would've thought you'd be lighter." she grinned at him, and, to her surprise (and relief), he smiled back.

A/N: well, that's chr 22. I hope you like it, but either way, r&r! Thank you so much for reading!


	23. Secrets

A/N: Hi! Sneko-Chan here! Um...I'm running out of things to say in these authors notes sections, which is funny because it's not often I don't have much to say, so maybe it's a good thing. I am somewhat of a chatterbox. All right, on to Chapter twenty-three. Oh yes! When I actually finish this, my aim is to go back and re-write the entire thing, or at least edit it some more. (Consider this my rough draft with spell check) If you have any suggestions, criticism, or things you want improved, please, let me know.

Chapter 23

_Golden smiled sadly, unsure of how to take her latest realization. Grey however was not so quiet about it._

_"This is a disaster! We can't have him remembering his past life! His heart would be torn into the old wounds!"  
"Just because he was reborn doesn't mean those wounds healed." Golden said softly. "Wounds don't heal just because you die, at least not wounds of the spirit. Those holes were always there. Now he knows why. Maybe now he can fix his mistakes."_

_"He's a demon! They have no heart or spirit to have holes in!" Golden glared at him. She had been a quiet girl in life, but that was only so her job would work better. She had needed to appeal to the side of a demon's heart that wanted someone to care for and protect. Here, she didn't need those restrictions._

_"Demons can have hearts." she said coldly. "If they know how to awaken them, just as people have hearts that must be awakened." Grey stepped back a little. "Getting demons to have hearts is the entire point of this- this torture we've been putting those two souls through. Getting the demon population to understand they are no different from humans if they opened their hearts is the point of this, so there can be peace! If you think this is a waste of time, then change Chrono's soul into a human's and set him free! Set them free! They've done enough to deserve it! If his soul wasn't a demons, then they would've been able to go on to the next world together, but no!" Golden didn't hide the sarcasm in her voice. She hated suffering. Especially when she was part of the cause. She flung a handful of cloud into Grey's face and stonily resumed watching the Lord's game play out._

_"You're saying I'd just get in the way? But I don't want to be separated from you again!" He shook his head, that sad smile still in his eyes._

_"Weren't you the one who said 'the place where Chrono can return to was decided four years ago?'" he bent closer, and she could feel her heart pounding, even through the time freeze. "And that place is...where ever you are." he kissed her, very gently. When he pulled away, they were both crying. "So, I'll definitely be back." he brushed her cheek with the back of his hand then left, words both of them couldn't say hanging in the air like crystal raindrops. Wait for me. I love you. Don't go. Will I ever return? God don't let him die! Will I be too late? I love you._

_ It would be a very wet day._

"Good morning Rosette." Chrono knocked on the girl's door. As usual, there was no answer. He'd figured out after the first few times that a) there was no point in expecting her to get up without a call and b) knocking on the door never woke her up. He would, as usual, have to go in and haul her out of bed. It wasn't something he expected to have to do when he agreed to let his house be used for this project. "Rosette!" Again there was silence. He shivered. Even though he knew perfectly well she was asleep, every morning he got a shiver when she didn't answer, wondering with horror whether her time had run out.

Chrono clenched his teeth, forcing the thoughts (and emotions) back. It was one thing to feel them and assume they were yours. It was another thing when you knew they were yours from another life. He had enough trouble in this life, thank you very much, and he had no want to know his pains from his last life. He smiled ruefully. It was a little late for that. He was just grateful Rosette didn't remember. "Rosette, I'm coming in." He didn't want to know what would happen if she did. He shoved open the door and glared at the bed's happily snoring occupant. Against his will, his eyes softened. Sassafras! Why did she have to be so pretty? That really had very little to do with it. Lots of girls were pretty. Only this girl was Rosette. He shook his head, glancing at the clock. It was already 7:00. He couldn't think like this. So what if he loved her then? What did that have to do with this life? There was no missing brother, no evil demon after them, no Magdalene order to fight for, no contract. There was nothing between them now. She was a girl who happened to be staying at his house and he was a guy who happened to be stuck with really annoying mental 'abilities' that let him see things he'd rather not know. Rosette let out a snort and he smothered a laugh. You're right. His heart needled. There's nothing between you now. So what's holding you back? He ignored the thought and the quivering hope that snuck up with it. "Rosette!" he stalked to the bed and put his hands on her shoulders to give her a light shake.

"Got ya!" Rosette grinned evilly, her fingers finding a particular spot on his sides. Chrono let out a yelps as she pulled him over, mercilessly tickling his sides. He twisted, trying to get away, but she had him pinned down.

"Rose- waag! H-hey- oh ha-ha! Stop- no! Not there! Stop!" he was laughing so hard Rosette thought he'd die from lack of breath, but that didn't slow her fingers any.

"That's payback for dragging me out of bed so early!" She found another of his ticklish spots, on his stomach. "And that's for being secretive!" he squirmed, trying again to wriggle away, but she wasn't done with him yet! "This is for being too damn smart- oh! And did I mention about not cursing? And what about keeping secrets?" she got him under the arms. "And this-"

"Um...Are we interrupting something?" Rosette sat up, looking towards the door to her bedroom, which Chrono had left open in case a quick exit was needed once he woke the dragon. Rosette felt her face turn bright pink as Satella, Ms. Harvenhiet, Fi and Azmaria stared at her. Very, very slowly she looked down, and realized exactly _where_ she was sitting.

"It's not what you think!" she screeched, trying to scramble out of the bed. Unfortunately, she tripped over the blankets and landed back on top of Chrono, her elbow stabbing him in the stomach. He gasped, and shoved her off, catching her arm before she fell off the bed.

"They're both still dressed anyways." Satella noted.

"Pity." Ms. Harvenhiet sighed. "The old Rosette would've been in soo much trouble, being a nun."

"And your reaction hasn't changed a bit." Chrono grumbled. Instantly, all eyes were on his suddenly pink face. Ms. Harvenhiet took a step into the room, reaching for him.

"Chrono, you- you-" Chrono backed away, tripping over Rosette's sneakers. He went down with a thump, but his eyes never left Ms. Harvenhiet's face.

"Will you stop terrifying the poor guy!" Rosette snapped, stepping between them. "Don't you all have better things to do!" the others fled, none of them willing to face the wrath they'd discovered she possessed. Rosette grabbed Chrono's hand and yanked him to his feet.

"Um...thank-aug!" Bwok! He dropped to the floor again, cringing as Rosette towered over him, her eyes flashing.

"That is for being where you were this morning!"

"YOU were the one who hauled me over!" he snapped back as they bickered their way downstairs.

"Yeah? Well what were you doing in there?"

"Same reason I am every morning! To get you up!"

"Pervert."

"Lazy." they glowered at each other for a moment before storming into the kitchen.

"You keep to many secrets." Rosette growled as she sat down.

"You're too nosy for your own good. That's going to get you in trouble someday. And get I don't know what you're talking about." he handed her a plate of eggs and toast.

"You know what I mean!" she threw her fork at him, which, to her disgust, he caught before it did any damage.

"NO I don't!" he whirled around, his back to her, and shoved some of the dirty dished into the water in the sink, scrubbing them furiously. Rosette shoved a spoonful of eggs into her mouth, glaring at the others who (now including Joshua and Viede) were watching the exchange with great interest.

"You're gunna die with your heart full of lies and no friends if you keep secrets like that." Rosette clapped a hand over her mouth as Chrono froze, then turned around very slowly, his hands white knuckled on the counter. To her surprise, he laughed, a chilling, broken sound that echoed in silent kitchen.

"That." he said, his eyes unreadable. "Is the idea. I'll see you all later." with that, he breezed from the kitchen and a second later, they heard the front door slam. Rosette sat, frozen for a moment. That...is the idea? He wanted to die alone?

"IDIOT!" she shoved her plate away and barged through the hall, knocking over a chair and a desk with a lamp. She ignored the sound of breaking glass and rammed the front door shut behind her. Hell! This was just like him too, always trying to handle things on his own! The idiot! You'd think he'd learn, having more than one life to figure it out!

"Chrono D'Crusa!" she yelled, spotting him just up ahead. "You are such an IDIOT!" she grabbed his arm. "Will you wait! Sheesh! You-"

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. You would've found out sooner or later anyhow!" his face was white, but his stance was angry. "I said I'm sorry, so what do you want me to do? Spill my guts? I don't need anyone! Once the adoption papers are through, my job is done, the kids'll be safe. That's all that matters to me."

"Oh can it, will you!" he wasn't angry and he wasn't telling the truth. She dodged a splash from a passing car and scowled at him. "You're only making things worse by lying." she caught his hand, could feel it shaking. "You aren't the kind of guy who's an 'I don't need anyone' person. Come off it Chrono!" They sat on the school steps, empty, because it was over half an hour before anyone actually had to be there and Rosette released her hold on his fingers. She noted, to her satisfaction, that he didn't move his hand from hers, merely looking away, watching the chip truck unload its cargo.

"I was lost when Mary died." Rosette stiffened when he spoke, because it didn't sound like Chrono. Then again, he hadn't sounded like Chrono for a while. "I...I didn't really want to get up in the morning. Everything I wanted to do was pointless. She'd killed herself, because of me. It was bad enough my presence enhanced her 'sight'." he met Rosette's look. "I know, you don't think it was my fault, but it was. I was selfish." Chrono pulled his hand away, wrapping his arms around his knees. "You see, my 'power' affects the way people around me see things. I increase their sensitivity, like an amplifier. Now it's happening again, but more than that," Chrono looked up, shutting his eyes against the sun. "Oh what am I saying?" Rosette wrapped her fingers around his wrist, stopping him from rubbing a hand over his face.

"Keep talking."

"I think I've said plenty."

"But you haven't said why you're pushing the rest of us away, why you want to die-" _I was lost when Mary died. I- I didn't want to get up in the morning. Everything I wanted to do was pointless._ Good God. "You don't want us to hurt like that. To feel like life's not worth it." She snorted at his reluctant nod. Oh Chrono. "Idiot." she stood. "We aren't all sentimental weaklings like you! You think we'd give up just because you died? Not everyone looks at life like that. Why would we get upset? You're just our land lord." She smiled at him. "You are a fool, you know that?" she reached down to pull him to his feet. She stiffened when her hand encircled his. _Chrono you're kind. Too kind. It almost breaks my heart._ Chrono clenched his teeth and wrenched his hand back, breaking the connection.

"It's happening again!" he groaned. Still, stood up slowly, looking a little less drawn. A bell rang and they looked around, realizing to their surprise that they we in the midst of students heading for homeroom. "Uh oh. Come on!" Chrono grabbed her arm and they darted towards their classroom.

"Chrono." Ms. Valentine stopped them just out side the classroom, her face white. "There was a call for you in the office, it's important." Chrono frowned.

"Did Kino get in another fight?" Ms. Valentine shook her head, her hand descending on Chrono shoulder.

"They're missing."

A/N: dundundaaaa! Okay, the entire chapter was short and stupid, but it was necessary. Now Rosette knows a goodly part of Chrono's secrets...most of them, I think. Well, I guess it's a tbc, so I shouldn't say too much. Thank you very much for reading and sorry this took so long.


	24. Search

A/N: Hello! Well, this is a little different than the rest of the story, but I didn't have a better time to include this and, well, quite frankly, nothing in life comes when you expect it. That said, on with the story!

Places: (um...I'll do this at the end of the chapter, 'k? It's less revealing.

Disclaimer: blah blah blah. I don't own Chrono crusade

Chapter 24

_"Have they decided?" Grey asked Superior._

_"The plan will not be changed. He wants to bridge heaven and hell, and if two souls must pay, so be it. The rest of human, angel and demon kind shall be healed. It is a small price to pay."_

_"But is that any reason to-"_

_"We haven't the control we'd like over the lowest of the realms. We can do nothing. Fate must be on our agreement, and right now, she's having fun." Superior grumbled. "She's taking her time."_

_"But we don't have time!" Grey snarled. "There's-"_

_"Time is something that matters only to mortals. His soul and hers will continue to return, again and again until we have accomplished what we need, if that means they will die fifteen million times, so be it." Grey took a step back from his leader. Cruelty. That's what this was! "Young miss Golden seems to be rubbing off on you." Superior grinned, a slow, smooth thing that made Grey's wings tremble as the other angel leaned closer. "You wouldn't be forgetting our objective, would you, Jessie? I would hate to think my fa-avorite, shall we say...seeker was turning against His will. Grey felt his knees buckle as the other angel's hands scratched lightly up his back, tickling the sensitive skin between his wings before skimming across his jaw. He gulped. "It's rare for a young little thing like you to hold such a position, you know."_

_"Y-yes, sir, I-oh-" He was silenced as Superior's lips encased his. Good Lord, the scrap of his mind that still worked begged. Let this time work, for her sake, for Golden, for if it didn't, he was sure the angellet would fade away forever._

_And he couldn't bear to let that happen._

"They're missing." Chrono was sure someone had shot him. Or stabbed him, tried to kill him. In fact, he rather felt like someone had just tried to tear him apart, as, in Christov labs, they had. Mentally anyway. He shook his head to clear it.

"What do you mean 'they're missing'" he sputtered. "Mr. Remington was going to drop them off at the school today since they spent the night at his house." Ms. Valentine shook her head.

"Ewan's here, and he says he dropped them off. They never went in." Chrono noticed there was a slight tremor in her normally steely voice, but then, his voice was more than shaking. He could barely speak. Rosette tightened her hold on his hand, and he attempted to squeeze them back, but he wasn't sure if he had. His whole body was tingling in a mixture of emotions he was having trouble placing

"You'll have to go to the office, Chrono. I'll go too." Ms. Valentine croaked.

"I'll come as-"

"Ms. Christov. Tsk tsk, you're late for practice. If you'll excuse us, Kate." Aion cut her off, gliding into the corridor. Ms. Valentine's eyes flashed.

"Aion." Chrono stiffened. Ms. Valentine's aura had flared with anger the second his brother had arrived. He narrowed his eyes against the florescent lighting, trying to read the colours of Aion's aura, but Ms. Valentine had blocked his view.

"Where are they?" she snarled. "Where are Kino, Marie and Nina!" Aion looked surprised, but Chrono caught a glimpse of a haughty knowing in the flamboyant swirl that was his brother's aura.

"And why would I know that?" he smirked. "You seem awfully worried, Katy kat." Ms. Valentine flushed bright red, but her eyes were still blazing. She seemed about to say something, but she instead grabbed Chrono's arm and pulled him towards the office.

"There are those of us, Aion" she spat. "That still have voices to speak with." Chrono glanced worriedly at Rosette who flashed him an 'it'll be fine' smile before disappearing into the classroom. Chrono turned his attention to Ms. Valentine as she towed him over the green tile floor, past classrooms and the office.

"Ms. Valentine? Where are we-" she silenced him with a cold glance as they stepped into the parking lot.

"You're powers. Can you control them enough to search for an aura?" The usually stern brown haired teacher unlocked the door of a small black Echo and pushed him in.

"Yes- I"

"Good." she climbed behind the wheel and skimmed out of the lot. "I will see that bastard dead." she muttered.

"My- Aion?" A tangled web of thoughts drifted to him, memories, feelings, confusion, rage.

"Damn right." she screeched into the driveway at #6 Bradford. "Get what you need. We have to find them." Chrono scrambled out, clutching his backpack.

"What's going on?" Kate swallowed, leaning back in the seat. To Chrono's surprise, a tear slipped over her cheek.

"We can do nothing, Chrono. None of us. Aion has cut us away, prevented us from interfering." Chrono struggled to garner some meaning from the woman's words. Kate met his miss-matched eyes. "Find my little girl." she whispered.

Rosette was unsure where Kate took Chrono. She was pretty sure it hadn't been to the office, and she was pretty sure Aion had something to do with the disappearance from the kids. She crumpled her script. _Aunt Rosette, do something!_ She was doing something alright. Oh yeah, while Chrono's little family was kidnapped, possibly in danger, she was doing something alright.

She was working on a play with the guy who'd probably taken them.

"Miss Rosette." Aion sighed for the third time that class. "Will you please try to keep your thoughts on the song?" Rosette resisted the urge to glower at him. He probably had something to do with the disappearance, the monster!

"What's with you?" Brad hissed, putting his arms around her as they practiced for the kiss scene. After twelve practice runs, Rosette was finding herself very close to throwing up all over him.

He probably would look better that way, she decided. She was willing to bet he didn't have Chrono's stamina for handling such things, the wimp.

Chrono. That's who Brad was supposed to be playing, the Chrono Rosette of the past loved. She wrinkled her nose. There was no way she could picture Brad as Chrono, past or present. Everything about him was wrong, and even in costume she wasn't sure if she could kiss him without grimacing. Ah well, the show wouldn't be any worse, she noted as Brad began to caterwaul another song. The audience would likely be dead by this point anyway. No, Chrono wouldn't kiss like that- and her thoughts were going to places they really shouldn't, especially seeing as only a couple hours ago she'd been fuming at her land lord for being to secretive. Her stomach twisted. He didn't want to hurt anyone by dieing. The fool. It was well past too late for that. He would be stuck with her, right to the death bed, if it were to come to that.

Granted, he'd have to die before the school year was out for that. Rosette choked mid-note at that.

That's right. She was leaving St. John's at the end of the school year, eight and a half months from now, not including her trip home at Christmas.

"ROSETTE!" Aion was in front of her.

"What?" she snapped, forgetting for a moment he was supposed to be her teacher.

"If you are going to be in the kiss scene, as you must since you are the lead, _try_ to make it look sincere. That's part of acting. You must put more feeling into it. Surprise that he's kissing you, anger that he tricked you, pain because he's just told you he's leaving, longing because he promised to return and determination because you're going to wait. All of that must be apparent to the viewer." Rosette felt her back straiten with the hint of challenge.

"If I were kissing 'Chrono' and he was kissing me within that circumstance, _he_ would be kissing me with the same amount of feeling and I wouldn't feel like I was kissing a- a-" she glared at Brad. "An impostor." Aion looked bemused.

"An impostor. So, you say you could kiss like that?" Rosette gasped, sensing the trap.

"Don't even TRY that again." she hissed. He smiled, and as usual, Rosette felt chilled.

"Very well then. Prove it with Brad. The best actors do well despite problems. I believe imagination helps. Perhaps pretending he's someone else, hm?" Rosette didn't need to see his face to know what he was implying.

"Leave him out of it, Aion. You've given him enough trouble."

"I have not the faintest clue what or who you're talking about, Ms. Christov. Perhaps you can explain after class, or during the parent teacher meeting that's coming up, hmm?"

"Um...Can we go back to practicing?" Brad whined. " My lips are getting cold." Rosette repressed another shudder.

"Fine." she growled. "Let's do this."

"Turn right here!" Chrono ordered, clamping his fingers onto the dash as Kate swerved around the corner. He shut his eyes and tried to focus, forcing aside the buzzing of worry. They'd be fine, they had to be. Aion wouldn't hurt a child, no matter how crazy he might be, would he? Chrono bit his tongue as the first wave of pain that came with the use of his power hit. Like his worry, he forced it aside. He could handle that later.

"There! That building there!" he pointed to the tall brown building with ugly siding. Nicknamed the ugliest building in St. John's for a reason, the Atlantic place had been remodelled during the summer with silver panels and blue windows and now looked worse than ever. "In here!" Kate parked and they scrambled out, racing up the concrete steps and through the glass doors. "Past the magazine stand, in one of the rooms above the parking garage!"

"Are you sure you have the right place?" Kate asked as her shoes clacked and skidded on the shiny floor.

"Mostly." Chrono's brow knit anxiously. "Something's off, but I'm picking up too much to tell. Sassafras this amplifier!"

"It makes it that much worse?"

"It creates static. I can't focus." He shoved open a door, winching as a siren went off.

"Leave that to me." Kate said, pulling a small tool from her pocket and working at a locked control box. Chrono nodded and continued. Just a little further. He could feel them, Marie's unstoppable anger and determination, Kino's struggle to be strong and Nina-

She wasn't here. Fear made the adrenalin in his veins pick up. Nina wasn't here. She was somewhere else.

"Kino! Marie!" Chrono kicked at the locked door. "Erg!" he drove his shoulder against it, stumbling as it gave. The room was dark, but he could see it was an office of some sort, with a large wooden desk and large filing cabinets. It was a fairly hi-tech room, actually, but he was more concerned about the children who were bound and gagged on the floor than what computer system the normal occupant used. He also didn't like the fact that there was no sign of anyone else here. Quickly, he crouched next to the children and untied them. Kino was in tears and Marie looked close to it. Chrono had to admire her pluck for not crying. "What happened to your face?" he touched a cut on her cheek with one hand, hugging Kino with the other.

"I bit him, the guy who took us, and he hit me. Oh Uncle Chrono!" Marie let out a sob and flung her small self against him and he sucked in a breath as her memories of the day washed over him. "I couldn't stop them, they got Nina!" Chrono picked them up and poked his head through the door, keeping the two children behind him.

"Don't worry Marie. I'll find her. Ms. Valentine!" the teacher ran up but she stopped when she saw one was missing. Chrono pressed Kino and Marie to her. "Nina's not here. She's been take somewhere else, and I think I can find it. Let's go! I'll go in and you take these two to 12 O'Leary's lane. Ask for Shader." Kate pursed her lips as they strapped the terrified kids into Kate's car. "It'll be alright." Chrono hissed, reaching back from the front to squeeze their hands. "You did good. Just trust me." Marie's eyes popped open, remembering the day she'd gone to live with Chrono.

After being shunted from one house to another, insulted, ignore and all the rest, she had been loath to go somewhere else, especially to the home of her absent father's brother. Her grandfather had been yelling at someone when she arrived and stepped out of the taxi. Her father had stepped out of an ugly house, followed by an equally angry boy who didn't look that much older then her. Aion, her father, had shoved her and her tiny suitcase forward, jumped into the car and left, leaving her on the sidewalk with the boy. They'd stared at each other for a long time before he reached out a hand. She'd winched and shut her eyes, expecting a blow. When it hadn't come, she'd looked at him and seen a sadness in his eyes, an understanding.

"I'm Chrono." he said softly, ruffling her hair gently. "I guess I'm your uncle." He'd knelt on the muddy ground before her, as if accepting her permission. "I won't hurt you, you know." she'd noticed then, a bruise on his face. He seemed to understand her curiosity and smiled. "It seems we're the same." he held out his arms almost shyly, nodding towards the rundown house will peeling paint and grubby windows. "It isn't pretty, and you won't have a million toys, but it's safe and it's home. You can trust me, Marie." Despite all she'd learned up until that moment, despite knowing it was probably a lie, she'd run crying to those arms and had never regretted it.

He was the one person she'd met who was sincere in wanting to care for her, even though, as she later found out, it was a duty that was forced on him along with a burden of shame. Still, Chrono, she knew, would do anything possible to protect them. Knowing this, Marie gave her uncle a watery smile and gripped both his and her half brother's hands.

"You know we do, Uncle Chrono." she whispered. Chrono nodded, satisfied, then gestured for Kate to stop. He opened the door and hopped out, giving them a calm smile.

"Be good for Shader, you got that?" Kino and Marie gulped, waving through the back window as they sped away.

Chrono gave one last wave towards the car and turned to the crumbling hospital before him.

The Grace hospital had closed in the past few years, two far behind it's sisters, the Health Sciences and St. Claire's to remain open. The building was in disrepair now, the grey walls cracked, windows broken, pieces of concrete strewn across the small patch of grass that remained outside. It was a far cry from what it used to be. Chrono crept around to a side door, trying to trust what his intuition was saying and not listening to the warning his mind sent, that this was going to get him in BIG trouble, seeing as it was a building with signs saying NO TRESPASSING plastered all over it. Staunching his worries, he concentrated on the one thing that mattered: finding Nina.

He had to get to her, she was in danger. He didn't know from what, only that she was afraid. He slipped up to doorway after doorway, trying to find a way in.

"Sassafras!" he groaned, finding yet another firmly shut door, another locked window. He was running out of options. Helpless, he looked around the back, hoping to find a window with a large enough hole to crawl through.

What he found was a set of loading doors, wide open, complete with a truck parked in front. Chrono twisted his hair back into the braid it had fallen out of and narrowed his eyes, trying to see if there was anyone inside, not that he could see around the door, but it made him feel like he was taking some precautions before walking headlong into what had to be a trap. He debated whether to try and find a different way in and catch them by surprise or whether to call the police. A little late for that, he thought ruefully. He should've done that first. Maybe there- Nina's aura peaked dangerously, stopping his thoughts of different plans. Nina. Opening himself up to feel any auras within the building, Chrono crept around the truck and though the loading doors, ducking quickly into the nearest shadows.

Now he just had to find his pint-sized niece in this much to building, before she came to any harm. _Trust me._ He'd promised Marie and Kino he'd protect them, and he'd promised Nina too, and he would not let them be harmed. Chrono slunk though the shadows, keeping a hand on the wall, trying to ignore the panicy feeling aroused in his chest as every shadow morphed into huge machines, once well used medical equipment, all now junk. It didn't matter to him. It was still too much like the labs- now was not the time to let his fear of medical equipment rule him. He clamped his mouth shut as he tripped over a box of scalples, scrambling away as they scattered across the insect covered floor. Nina. He reminded himself despratly. I've got to find Nina. His brother was going to hurt her. Suddenly, the shadows seemed like kittens and the medical equipment paperclips. What the hell was he doing? The shadows were his friends, they hid him. He had a job to do.

If Rosette had been antsy in Acting, it was nothing to how she felt now, sitting in the most boring class in the world.

Language arts.

Ms. O'Reilly, the teacher, had a voice like a hive of smoked bees, and it would normally have put her to sleep, if it weren't for the fact that her mind was very, very far away.

Had Chrono found the kids? Were they hurt? Rosette pretended to scribble a note on her exercize book as the teacher looked her way. What if Chrono hadn't found them? Was he hurt? Or was he actually in the office, where he was supposed to be. Had he gone home?

A hand banged on her desk.

"What?" she snapped, blanching as she saw the look in Ms. O'Reilly's eyes.

"Rosette. Would you please care to repeat to me what I was just saying?" the teacher asked.

"T-that it's time for lunch?" Rosette squeaked. She couldn't afford to get detention now! Ms. O'Reilly sighed dramaticly.

"This, class," she said, pointing to Rosette. "Is a perfect example of what _not_ to do. Miss Christov, I was just telling the class that journalists must be _observant_. Something you do not seem to be. Do try and keep your thoughts on class." Rosette made a rude gursture under her desk as the teacher flounced away. Normally, she would say something to Chrono, and he would give her an exasperated Well-you-weren't-paying-attention look and tell her what she'd missed. She'd complain some more and he'd smile, then they'd both go back to work, her temper appeased, nothing more to it.

Today, there was much more too it, and the stupid teacher had no idea what was going on in her head! Rosette was very tempted to ignor the rest of the class, just out of spite, but her father was flying up for the parent teacher interviews, and she really didn't want a bad report, otherwise, he'd say the people here were a bad influence on her.

Especially someone like Chrono. If her father thought she wasn't doing things the was she should, she would risk being moved to another house. Then how would she help Chrono? Clenching her pencil, Rosette set her jaw and prepared to listen to the rest of a very long explanation of journalism and what a journalist had to do, when a further disruption prevented the continuation of the class.

For her at least.

A/N: T-B-C! (To be continued) Hi! It's me again, here to pick up where the last A/N left off! But first, about Ms. O'Reilly. I was going to call her Ms. Grace, after Sister Grace from volume 4 of the manga (and it is her I think of when I write about Ms. O'Reilly) But I did have a Language Arts teacher named Ms. Grace, so I couldn't do that. The two teachers, the fictional and the real, are nothing alike, so no lawsuits please!

Places: The Atlantic Place is so ugly it even has it's own myth about why it looks the way it does. It is a real place, although the interior was changed in my story. It does, however have a magazine stand and a parking garage, and there are rooms above the parking garage. The Atlantic Place was remodled this summer (of 2006) and yes, the remodling has made it even uglier. The building is old, but they added modern fronting that is (very) tacky and they also (fume) let's not go there, shall we?

The Health Sciences and St. Claire hospitals: are both real places with the real names. They are both, as far as I know, still functioning.

Finally, the Grace hospital is a real hospital that has closed in the past few years. (I don't remember when) Actually, my father, brother and I were all born there, so I'm sad it closed. As for the loading doors...they actually exist! (Sheepish grin from S.Neko) Behind the Grace hospital, there are a set of loading doors where equipment and such are unloaded. How do I know about them? My mother was in the hospital because my little brother was due, (I don't remember whether he'd been born yet, I was only six) and my father decided to bring her flowers. So, we hung around outside and picked all the wildflowers we could find- pretty yellow ones! Dad wanted to get in quickly, and he might have been worried the hospital staff wouldn't let the flowers into the building SO he came up with this great idea- go through the nearest door, which happened to be a staff only loading door. He couldn't leave me behind so...I went through a no- entrance loading door! (As for the flowers, they made it to mom, and she like them, but we had to remove them because the pretty yellow flowers turned out to be Goldenrod!) Well, that's all for today! Sneko is signing off!


	25. Rescue

A/N: Hello! Sneko-chan here! It's a beautiful day here in Newfoundland, as opposed to yesterday when we were doused with a huge amount of rain. Well, I'm in shock. I'm writing a story that's now reached chapter 25. That's scary. I once drew a comic that was some two hundred pages long, but then I gave up. Bridges is about 140 pages right now, including Chapter 3, which I should be inking right not, instead of writing this. However, life if full of should have's and should be's so let just live n the moment for now and move ahead with New Time, New Place!

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade

Chapter 25!

_Golden's fingers had slowly crept their way to her mouth, and for that, she was grateful. At this rate, she would start screaming at the idiot before he even did his job, and even if he couldn't hear her, he would feel her fear, and that could hold him back. _

_She had no right to meddle in his life. No one did, yet they had hauled him around on strings since he was born, and they'd done the same to the girl. Golden turned. The girl. What was she doing now, while her friend was heedlessly ploughing headlong into possible death? Golden grinned._

Chrono had never been so grateful for dust. Back at the house, he was always trying -and usually failing- to keep the wretched stuff to a minimum. At the moment though, he was glad the floors of the Grace hospital was completely covered with it, because it muffled his footsteps in the empty halls.

His skin prickled as a shadow slid across the wall. Chrono froze, crouching in a doorway, his skin burning with prickles as the shadow drifted past, silent, dread bringing and definitely not human.

What had he gotten himself into? What had he gotten Nina into? The shadow drifted further down the hall, and when Chrono looked at the floor, he could see footprints in the dust. He wasn't sure if he was happy or terrified that whatever that awful aura was, it was solid. Whatever it was, it was headed towards Nina. Keeping his back to the wall, Chrono followed the hulking shape down the narrowing hall, past abandoned gurneys and IV poles, past windows that cast in faded glimpses of light from street lamps. Nina's aura flickered. She was getting weaker, whatever they were doing for her. Screw whatever the monster was down the hall! Grabbing the nearest IV pole, Chrono pelted down the hall, knocking the creature aside. It hit the wall with a sickening thump and slid to the floor. Chrono stopped, startled. It looked... human. Had he killed a fellow human? Who would look after the kids- Mr. Remington would, but who would save Ni- the creature exploded into a fountain of green blood, the substance spewing all over the floor and walls. Biting back a scream of pain as the stuff burned the little skin it touched, Chrono fled down the hall, keeping track of Nina's aura with all his being. There were more of them, those creatures. He could see them, out of the corners of his eyes, he could feel their auras dancing like black lights around him, he could smell them, like rotting meat and drying blood. He ducked past a pair of them and into a room.

"Nina!" Chrono raced to the operating table and pulled the limp child off. "Nina!" she was breathing, but that only meant her body was alive. He squinted at the machines that surrounded the table, his heart picking up speed.

He'd seen these before!

"So. You actually showed up after the brat. I'm surprised, but I guess the boss had a good estimate of you." The door behind him shut with an echoing bang and Chrono turned to face Genai who stood by it, calm and relaxed behind a good twenty of the shadow monsters. Licking his dry lips, Chrono backed up. Someone had put Genai up to this, promised him a lot of money, but Genai hadn't actually met the guy, didn't know who he was. Chrono turned his attention to the monsters, trying to read their auras, but there was only a big nothing. Genai grinned, his eyes hidden behind his black sunglasses. "Done worry." he chuckled as the creature followed Chrono's retreat. "The Keytos's are designed only to destroy your body." His body? thoroughly confused, Chrono swallowed hard as his back hit the too-solid wall. Leering at him with a dark glee, the Keytos continued their forward slink, prowling around him, their grins wide and sharp toothed within their human guises. _...Are designed only to destroy your body_. These things were made to come after him? Chrono hoped no one else had been harmed as they were tested.

"No!" He knocked away the hand of one that dared to try to touch Nina. Genai's grin widened as he watched the teen struggle to forestall the inevitable. One Keytos fell back into another and they both exploded into the caustic green liquid. Oh no, Genai smirked, the purple haired brat wouldn't last long, especially not when he was trying to protect his precious little niece.

Chrono gasped but refused to react to the pain as droplets of green acid showered over him. He struck a monster aside, then another, but there were always more to fill the space.

Nina was going to die! He wouldn't be able to save her! Clenching his teeth, he swung his backpack at a group of Keytos, scattering them. He couldn't break his promise!

"CHRONO!" some floor below them, someone was yelling his name. He paused, trying to tell who it was, but in that second, a Keytos dealt him a blow to the stomach, throwing him into the wall and wrenching Nina from his grasp. Dazed, Chrono staggered to his feet.

"Not so tough now, are you brat?" Genai sneered as Chrono made a dive towards where Nina was lying. The Keytos followed, piling on top of him as he curled around Nina's small body.

"SHUT UP!" Chrono heard a loud crash and then, he was sure someone had doused him in gasoline and threw in a match.

Rosette had been shocked when she'd seen Ms. Valentine throw open the classroom door. The normally composed teacher looked like she'd lost her mind, her hair in disarray, her clothing torn. Then Joshua and Az had run in, grabbing her arms and pulling her from the room. By the time Rosette had her wits about her again, they'd gathered Viede, Satella, Fi and Ms. Harvenhiet and were all piled into Ms. V's car, tearing through the streets after dropping Azmaria off at a bizarre looking house.

"What's going on!" Satella screamed, clutching the back of the seat.

"You crazy woman! Did you learn to drive from Rosette!" Ms. Harvenhiet yelled at the same time.

"I don't know how to drive!" Rosette snapped.

"You couldn't then but you did anyway! That's just the way you were, a girl from the sticks!"

"Why you!" Rosette pounced on Ms. Harvenhiet, driving her fists into the woman's head.

"That's enough!" Kate roared, running a red light. "Chrono and Nina are in trouble!" That shut them up. Kate threw the car into park the second they were in front of the Grace and shoved the door open. "Come on!" they scrambled out, running to the nearest set of doors.

"They won't open!" Joshua grunted, pulling on them. At that moment, a window above them shattered, sending glass and green slime down onto the dried brown grass.

"Outta the way!" Rosette warned. "Hiyaah!" Chrono was in trouble! She rammed her foot into the door, knocking it off its hinges. The group burst into the filthy lobby and stopped.

"It's huge!" Satella groaned. "What'll we do?"

"We start looking, that's what." Az stepped out of the shadows, Jacob behind her. Rosette found herself with a piece of cold metal in her hands.

A gun. Jacob handed a handful of holy water bottles to Kate and guns to Satella and Viede.

"We're going to have to split up. D'you guy's mind?" he asked. Rosette shook her head and Jacob smiled. "Good. Let's go!" They branched into different directions, pounding up halls and stairs, tripping over ruined equipment.

Rosette shivered. It was so dark. And yet, she had a strange excitement in her. This felt so routine it was almost calming.

Almost. While the gun felt plenty familiar, something was missing.

_"Chrono! Hand me the Gospel!"_

_"Wha? B-but Sister Kate hasn't authorized us-"_

_"Shut up! Do you want to die?"_ It was incredibly lonely, demon hunting alone. Somehow it was always comforting knowing she could call on Chrono to protect her, even if that drained her life- darn! She was doing it again! Thinking like the Rosette from the play! This was real! Chrono was in trouble and there were no demons.

The shadow that loomed up in front of her quickly made her reconsider that. It wasn't human, and judging by the holes in the floor that it's dripping green drool caused, she didn't want to have anything to do with it. Tightening her grip on the gun, she took a leap and rolled beneath it. On th e other side, she scrambled up and ran. She could deal with that- that thing later!

"CHRONO?" She knew it was probably a bad idea to yell, but she had to find him faster! A pain had started, low and twisting, in her chest, and she had a feeling if she didn't make it soon...A door in the hall ahead burst open and a man leapt back as a wash of green goop started eating at the floor.

"Not so tough now, are you brat!" he laughed.

"Shut up!" Rosette yelled, aiming the gun. Genai took one look at her and laughed.

"Better hurry girly!" he called over his shoulder as what sounded like a muffled scream rocked from the room he'd just left. "Your little boyfriend doesn't seem to be enjoying his meeting with my little pets!" For a moment, Rosette hesitated as the man ran down the hall. He'd hurt Chrono! She'd kill him! Eyes burning, Rosette took a running step forward only to hear a second cry. Good god, she'd nearly left- shoving the thought from her head, Rosette leapt over the growing hole in the floor and into the room.

"Chrono!" a sweet, rotting smell met her at the door. "Chrono, are you here! Answer me!" The slime from the monsters dripped from every possible surface, slowly devouring the room. It looked like a group of them had piled up and exploded. Rosette's heart gave a horrified thump. If Chrono had fallen and they'd piled up on _him_..."Chrono!" she charged further in, squinting at every shadow.

"R- Rosette!" a small cough followed her name and she turned, finally spotting the figure slumped in the far corner, one of the only areas that didn't seem to be washed with the acid.

"Are you hurt? What were those things?" she ran over to help him up, but he stood unaided before she got there.

"We...you- have to get Nina to the hospital." he croaked, his voice so faint she could barely hear it. He was leaning on the wall, wheezing. "Come on." she caught his arm as he took a staggering step but jumped back as her hand came away bloody. "Leave it." he muttered, as if sensing her thoughts.

"You're hurt!" he paused in front of the broken window and Rosette gasped, for his arms, back and legs were bloody, blistered and red.

"That- doesn't- matter." he said. Rosette would've believed him if his legs hadn't given out at the same time.

"Chrono!" she ran over. This was getting stupid!

Whack. Chrono yelped.

"What was that for?"

"For acting all macho!" Rosette snarled. "Nina looks fine! You don't! In case you haven't noticed, you've just burned half your ski-"

"It'll heal!" Anger seemed to be waking him up from the pain, Rosette noticed. That was good. "It's Nina we have to worry about!" Hands shaking, Chrono parted the hair on the back of his niece's neck.

A small piece of metal glinted in the light from the window.

"Wha-"

'It's an amplifier, like mine." Chrono was panting, but he still managed to get up. "I was supposed to have mine removed tonight, but I've got to get Nina in first. If I don't, it'll attach itself to her spine, and-" Rosette squealed as he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her out of the path of the charging Keytos.

"Damn!" Rosette swore, aiming the gun. She fired at the same time several other shots, a bottle of holy water and two crystalline monsters hit the creature.

"Duck!" The floor and her nose had a nice meeting as Rosette found herself pressed to the floor under a warm weight. Heart pounding, she raised her head slightly, twisting, and met Chrono's eyes. For a moment, she forgot they were being rained on by green acidic goo. For a moment, she forgot that the rest of their rescue team was standing in the doorway.. She forgot she was being squished on the floor that hadn't been cleaned in years.

Chrono was protecting her. Not just Nina, his niece, but her. Her tummy got all warm just thinking about it. Then she realized what protecting her meant, including where he was lying.

"You idiot!" she screeched, jumping up, "One embarrassment of that sort a day!" she knocked him a good one over the head and glowered. He met her look with the same amount of annoyance.

"_I'm_ and idiot? If you had ducked when I told you, then I-"

"You said that just when you grabbed me, pervert!" (Bonk)

"Pervert! Since when am I a pervert!"

"Since- since always! And did I mention stupid? If you'd pulled us behind the table, you wouldn't be dripping blood all over the floor!"

"At least it's not your blood!"

"You're so busy playing mister Hero, you didn't even try to jump behind the table!" Rosette snarled.

"The acid would've eaten right through it! It would've had further to go through-"

"Through you? Oh yeah, did I mention how heavy you are? It's a good thing you don't have a girl friend. You'd totally squish her!"

"Oh, very funny!"

"Um...guys?" Az asked. Jacob rolled his eyes.

"Don't bother, Azzy. You'll have very little luck breaking up that lovers quarrel."

"LOVERS QUARREL?" Jacob quickly found himself under siege. Ms. Valentine glanced at Azmaria.

"How on earth did you get those weapons anyway?" Az shrugged.

"Great grandma taught me everything she knew, as did Joshua's great grandfather, Joshua Christopher. Jacob and I trained together, so, even tough we aren't part of the order, since we have family ties and training, we can use the weapons if needed." Jacob waved a frantic hand from under Rosette.

"Some help?" he squeaked.

"Ms. Kate? We have to go." Chrono tugged at the woman's sleeve. "Now." He was still holding Nina, who was starting to stir. Kate froze the second her eyes landed on the pale child.

"Right." her hand wandered to the thick brown hair before her eyes hardened and she straitened her back and clothes. "Alright! Back to the car! If you aren't there, you'll all have detention for a month. Yes, even you Jacob! Now!" Yelping, they raced back to the soon to be very crowded vehicle and piled in.

"There's no room!" Az groaned, looking in. Kate scowled. Her daughter needed medical help! They couldn't waste time...

"Fi, get in the front. Rosette, move over."

"But then I'll be-" Rosette went bright pink.

"That's the idea." Five minutes later, they'd squeezed in by piling on top of each other in the back, meaning, basically, that Rosette was sitting on Chrono's lap, Satella was sitting on Viede's and poor Azmaria was looking like she'd die right there, squished on top of Jacob, whose face was a red to rival hers. Rosette had a feeling her face was very pink, and when she stole a look at Chrono, staring stubbornly out the window, his ears were very steadily darkening.

It would be a long drive.

a/n: TBC! - Well, I hope you liked it. I'm not very good at supernatural stuff, I've never tried writing about it. I will get better, I promise!


	26. Getting Things on Track

A/N: I feel somewhat bad, because I've been reading fanfics this morning instead of writing. However, I just finished the main inking for Bridges part 1 chapter 3. I'm celebrating, and you need to do that once in a while.

Here's a question I was asked, and I'm going to answer it here, because it is an important question. It was answered in the story, but briefly, so here's a little more detail.

Q: Can Chrono be hurt by holy water because he has a demon soul?

A: O-h yeah. Chrono is one of the most vulnerable characters in the story right now, mainly because of his demon soul. He can be killed and/or hurt by anything holy (you remember his reaction in the church) as well as things that would kill a human. He may have a demon soul, but it makes him weaker, not stronger. Right then. On to chapter 26. (Good grief) By the way, since I'm finished most of my inking, I might get this story done sooner, because I don't have Bridges to work on.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade.

New Time, New Place. (Oh, here's a fact for you: the original title for the story was 'Trying Again'. Happy reading.)

He was going to go insane, he was sure of it. At the very least, he was going to be carsick.

Chrono forced such thoughts away. There was not time to worry, no time to think. All he had to do was make it to the hospital and find Marne. Marne Sanders was a doctor at the Health Sciences. She was known for seeing things just a little... different. She was much more open minded then many people Chrono had met, and she was very kind. She was the one to organize his operation, a very difficult one that required doctors from the states. Normally, he'd have to go to them, but he couldn't go by plane, and he couldn't leave the kids and go by land and ferry. So, Marne had decided to bring to doctors here. He had to hope they could take Nina in his place, for he knew he'd never have the money to pay for two operations, especially since once he had his, he wouldn't be able to work for months. He wouldn't be able to _move_. If they worked fast enough, Nina could have the amplifier out before it attached itself to her spine. If they didn't...Chrono bit his lip, checking for the umpteenth time that his niece was still breathing. Damn it! He checked himself on the curse. He couldn't let that happen, it would be a bad example for the kids.

The kids he'd almost gotten killed. Some guardian he was. He had to hope that Marne was actually there. He hadn't been in for a while, even though he was supposed to be getting check ups every second week, so he didn't know which days she was on.

"You're already bleeding Chrono. Are you trying to chew your lip off?" Chrono blinked, looking up at Rosette. She squeezed her arm over and wiped a trickle of blood away from where he'd broken the skin with his teeth.

Rosette. Chrono winched, and hoped she thought it because his lip was sore- which it was- and not because her finger just brushing his lip had sent a very worrying tingle down his back and sent his stomach on the flutter. He gave himself a mental punch to the gut. How could he be so selfish? Nina was hurt for Pineapple's sake, and he was getting distracted by a girl! He quickly turned his face away from Rosette and kept his eyes on Nina. She'd wake up soon, and he didn't think that'd be good. The amplifier burned, constantly, and it was only the testing he'd received that allowed him to handle it. Nina would be unused to it. Once again, Chrono's teeth clamped onto his lip. He could try to suppress her pain, and he might be able to hold it off for a little while but... He'd already used his abilities more than usual. Chrono forced that thought out of his head too. If he thought about it, the after effects would hit him sooner.

"How is she?" Kate asked from the driver's seat of the cramped car. Chrono leaned over slightly, trying to see her, but that was impossible.

"I think she's doing alright for now. We need to get to the Health Sciences though. There's someone there who should be able to help. Plus, I need to phone Mr. Remington and let him know the children are found." Chrono swallowed hard as Nina stirred. Sass'n'vin, this was it. Chiding himself for being a coward and thinking of pain before his niece, he brushed his fingers lightly over the amplifier, trying to absorb the flow of negative energy. He shuddered. Was that what the energy from his was like? He was unable to feel it, as it simply flowed around him but...his stomach twisted as the black energy, smooth and creamy wound it's was into him, bringing the fire with it.

"Chrono?" Rosette twisted on his lap, trying to see his face, but couldn't manage it, because Satella's legs were in the way. She did, however, hear the tiny change in his breathing, a gasp before it got slightly shallower.

"So Chrono," Satella grinned. "How is it, having your girlfriend sitting on your lap? Comfy?" Rosette could feel Chrono stiffen.

"I'm not his girlfriend, you witch!" she snapped, trying to noogie the woman without causing a crash. The whole effort was very half-hearted, seeing as she wasn't really thinking about punishing Satella.

She was courting surprise, seeing as a little bubble of excitement had reared its head at the very idea that...

"No." Rosette frowned, and Satella laughed.

"I guess Rosette has a bony butt!" she laughed. "Unlike yours truly..." she went on blabbering, but Rosette took the slight space to turn around, finally having enough room.

"...'_No_'" she bonked him over the head. "NO?"

"I wasn't referring to that." Chrono murmured. Rosette's stomach took a nosedive as she caught sight of the pallor of his face.

"Chrono-"

"We're here." Kate screeched into the parking lot. They spilled out and stared around the building, with the exception of Chrono, who seemed, as usual, to know exactly where he was going. Rosette followed him towards a large, modern building made of what looked like giant silver legos marked CHILDREN'S EMERGENCY.  
"Hey! Chrono!" Rosette was nearly bowled over by the woman as she raced over to Chrono. Rosette started to grab her arm and demand an apology- or at least an introduction- when she saw the way the two were talking.

"What on earth are you doing Chrono?" Marne groaned, pushing him towards the building. "Nina, right? She seems alright for now-" They skipped the front desk and went down a hall to the room Marne had long claimed as her office.

"Marne, she has an amplifier." The woman turned back to him from where she'd gone to get a coffee.

"A- an amplifier?" Her warm face paled when she caught the look in Chrono's bi-coloured eyes and she sank into her chair, hunching around her coffee. She didn't need her 'ability' to know what Chrono was about to ask. "You fool." she finally sighed. "You want me to have her take the operation. Chrono, this might be your only chance!" he shrugged. It was a waste, now. Marne glowered at him.

"I can't afford both; I might not be able to afford this one. It hasn't attached to her spine yet, so her's is easier. Besides, if we wait-"

"I know all that! But if you don't have yours removed-"

"I can live with it. She can't. Marne, please! I couldn't live-" the doctor raised her hands in surrender.

"All right, all right, I'll let them know! Geez, you're stubborn! Now, go and get cleaned up. You have stopped bleeding, haven't you?" Chrono nodded even though he hadn't and ducked out of the office and headed for the washroom. He'd be able to save Nina, luckily. He shivered, brushing his blood stiffened bangs off his face. He really had to cut his hair. Still, Nina was alive, that was what counted.

"Will she be okay?"

"Yarg!" Chrono leapt back and landed hard on the cool tile floor at Kate's feet. The teacher's face was drawn, and Chrono had never seen her so...untidy. Then again, he noted, looking at the other borders wandering about the waiting room, he hadn't seen any of them after escaping conflict with demonic life forms before. Except Rosette, and she looked as pretty as ev- he was doing that again! Shaking his head, he smiled weakly.

"Yeah, she should be fine. I'm going to be here a while, so I'm going to tell the others how to get home." he waved at her in what he hoped was an enthusiastic manner and tottered to where the others were bombarding Rosette with questions about the monsters. Thankfully, they stopped as he approached, for the headache he'd been staving off was starting to poke through. He had a long night ahead, and he wasn't prepared for-

"Uncle Chrono!" Chrono was not so happily reacquainted with the hospital's tile floors as Marie and Kino latched onto him.

"Uwa! Chrono! Are you hurt! I heard from the kids! Nina! Where's Nina? You did find her, didn't you? Uwah! You're bleeding!" Shader bent over him, her high-pitched energy receiving dirty looks from the nurses, but they all hushed as Mr. Remington flew through the door, still in his work clothes.

"Chrono! What's going on? Did you find the ki- Marie! Kino! Whe-" He slipped on the floor (Why do hospitals use tiling? It's dangerous) and crashed into Shader, sending them both to the floor in a rather embarrassing position.

"Ewan!" Shader squealed. "You're here! I was afraid you wouldn't get my message, but you did! Fantastic! Well, we're all here, so what's the verdict?" Rosette sidled over to Chrono, reaching down and pulling him up. He smiled gratefully, but winched as the action re-opened his cut lip. Rosette frowned and touched the cut.

"How-"

"Nina's going to have an operation to remove her amplifier. She's fine." Kino and Marie let out a cheer, dangling off his legs.

"We knew you'd save her Uncle Chrono!" Kino whooped. Marie grinned and clung tighter, the combination nearly sending the floundering teen over again. Rosette steadied his arm.

"I was going to ask how you are." she hissed sternly.

"Me?" Chrono laughed. "I'm-"

'Mr. D'Crusa." they turned as a tall man strode over, parting the large (noisy) group. "May we speak with you?" Chrono nodded.

"You guy's go home, we'll be there soon." he pushed his friends closer to the door. Kate went to follow the chattering teens, but Mr. Remington caught her arm.

"Shader can drive them home in her station wagon," he said loudly.

"Oh! I get to drive them!" Shader squealed before rushing after the flock. "Come on Rosette!" Ms. Valentine and Mr. Remington watched the blonde girl hesitated by the door, her eyes caught on the purple haired boy talking to the doctors. He was worried, she could feel it. Sensing her eyes, Chrono turned and waved to her, a calm smile spread over his face. She smiled back and left, knowing the second she was out of sight the fool would probably start gnawing his already marred lip. She couldn't blame him, but he needed a friend right now, not just adults who might gang up on him.

Chrono smiled, feeling the direction of Rosette's thoughts.

Still 'open' after today's events, he was feeling somewhat dazed. However, after using his powers for so long, it would take a good three or four hours to shut down, and right now, he couldn't do that. He needed to be open, to help Nina.

"We can perform the operation, Mr. D'Crusa," The doctor introduced as Miller said. "But there is an issue of the fees." Chrono sucked in his breath at the number. He was regally, royally, unavoidably in deep...but he had to save Nina.

"I- I'll find a way to pay, don't worry." he forced conviction into his voice, and into his heart, glad for the ability to mask his shock. "You go on with the operation, and I'll see what I can do." The doctor left and Chrono dropped into a seat.

"Nina will be ok, right?" Marie asked, huddling at his side. Chrono wrapped his arms around her small frame, fully aware of her guilt.

"You bet." he grinned. "Right as rain."

"Then why are you so worried?" Chrono's heart burst into a flame of guilt. Was he that obvious?

"Me? I- I'm n-" the objection died before it lived as he met Marie's eyes. She could see right through him, down to his worry. He sighed. "Ah Mari-Mari. I can't hide anything from you now too. It used to be only Nina." Then Chrono heard his own words and his heart started its sprint again. This really was too much for one day! He put his hands on Marie's shoulders and stared at her, trying to read her aura.

"Uncle Chrono?" As he'd feared, there were little strands of violet appearing here and there. How could he not have noticed before? Marie set her jaw, looking at him. "Is it bad I have the same thing as you do?" she asked. "You're upset." Chrono leaned back in his chair and scooped her one his lap.

"It isn't bad, Mari-Mari." he was using the pet name he'd used when she was younger, hoping to get her to snap at him, but instead she smiled. Maybe he'd been wrong to stop using it. Sassafras, he really was a bad parent! "It isn't bad; it's just, I feel bad because I didn't know you had it. I'm sorry." Marie looked down at her feet.

"You don't have to be. I was trying to hide it." Before Chrono could ask why, Mr. Remington came over, carrying a snoring Kino.

"Nina's having her operation?" Chrono nodded. He was tired, but tired he could handle.

"Yes. You go on home; I'll keep the kids here with me. I'll get a taxi home with them when Nina's through."

"You will do no such thing." Marne snapped, walking into the brightly painted waiting room. "I'm driving you home, and you aren't escaping by taxi. You're getting a lecture, young man." Chrono blushed and Marie giggled. The sound was watery, but it was the best thing he'd heard all night, so he didn't mind the lecture so much, which mainly centred on his recklessness, and his stubbornness, and how he wasn't taking care of himself because he didn't come in for check-ups and he'd lost weight again. Chrono made himself look sheepish, but he really wasn't listening. Kino and Marie had fallen asleep and the waiting room cleared out, so he didn't feel over-run with emotions as he usually did when open, meaning, he could think about how the heck he was going to pay for not just the operation, but the medication he'd need to buy for Nina afterwards. Well, he'd think of something, he knew that. He usually did, and if not, he could ask Mr. Remington, but he didn't want too, simply because the man was going to adopt the children, and Chrono didn't want to give him extra trouble before that. Still, the option was comforting. Still, he had to think of something he could do! Scowling, he chewed on his fingernail, a habit he'd broken years ago. Of course. He stared at his hands, long fingered and thin, flexing them. That might bring in enough-

"Mr. D'Crusa." The doctor came out with Nina, and explained in slow, loud words how to care for her, as if he was talking to a stupid animal, or someone who couldn't hear. Annoyed but feigning patience, Chrono listened carefully, for his nieces well-being depended on this. He was, however, very happy to watch Dr. Miller leave the room.

Chrono waved good-bye to Marne and went to unlock the door. It was good to be home. He and the kids slipped inside and down to the basement, where Chrono got them all tucked into bed, making sure to fuss with each child. Had it been a normal day, Marie would've just went off quietly, but today she hugged him tightly. Kino, who usually settled for a ruffling of his hair, actually kissed him on the cheek and Nina, still dazed from the medicine they used to put her to sleep, clung to his hand and cried before he hugged her tightly and promised never to let it happen again, he'd protect her. He had to hope he could uphold it! Eventually, the children were all settled into bed and he let himself sigh with relief. He tiptoed into the bathroom, turned on the shower so it was as hot as he would be able to take, stripped off his clothing and stepped under the stinging droplets. Instantly, realization of how close he'd come to getting the kids and his friends sank in, as did the fact his back, arms and legs were covered in seeping, bleeding burns from the acid. The second he realized that, the pain registered in full and the mental block he'd put up to stave off the headache fell. Retching, he stumbled from the shower, just making it to the toilet before he threw up, black spots hovering in his eyes. It hurt! Everything hurt! He coughed and gagged, even though there was nothing in his stomach. Pain burned down from his skull to his spine to everything. He was lost.

Somewhere behind him, a door clicked.

Tired as she was, Rosette had not gone to bed as soon as they'd gotten back. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. She'd made a cup of hot chocolate for herself and drank it, curled up in the chair by the living room widow. Well, she tried to drink it. It didn't taste like it did when Chrono made it. With a sigh, she set the cooling drink on the scratched wooden side table and pulled out her script. She might as well read over her lines while she was waiting. It was a pity she already knew most of it by heart. Chrono had seen to that far better then Brad or Aion. Hey, maybe if Aion was kicked off, Chrono could be the director!

After reading through her script three times, she stood and started pacing.

Rosette awoke to a soft sound.

"Whu?" Sleepily she sat up, rubbing her eyes. She was on the couch, having sprawled there at about 11:23, too tired to pace anymore. Someone was running a shower at two in the morning? Rosette stood and made her way to the basement where the noise was coming from. Chrono was back! She crept down the steps and frowned, noticing water on the floor.

"Chrono?" she hissed, spying Marie asleep in her room. "Chrono?" he probably couldn't hear her over the shower, but that much water meant it had over flowed. Rosette's stomach twisted.

Could he've fainted in the shower? She didn't see how, when water normally woke people up but-

"Chrono?" she tapped on the door.

Still nothing.

"Open up, dammit!" she twisted the knob and found it unlocked. "Chrono!" Unsure of whether to pray that he was in the shower and fine or that he'd passed out before hand, preferably before he took off his clothes, Rosette opened the bathroom door, peeking out of one eye, just in case. All concern over modesty disappeared when she saw him slumped over the toilet, vomiting.

"Chrono!" he didn't raise his head from where it rested on his bloody forearms, as it he was too weak to. He might be, Rosette gulped as she sloshed over and turned off the shower. After today, who knew how he felt. "Are you alright? What happened?" She knelt next to his and touched his shoulder. He lifted his head, wheezing.

"H-huh?" he blinked, as if he was trying to get her in focus. "I-it's nothing. Just a headache." he managed to gasp before gagging. He winched. There was nothing for him to throw up, Rosette realized, for unless he ate at the hospital, he hadn't eaten since this morning. Had he eaten then? She couldn't remember. It felt so long ago.

"You're just having a real bad day, aren't you." That had to be the biggest understatement she'd ever said, she decided as she gave him a light hug and pulled the hair back from his hot, damp face. He shivered, gagged once more and sat back on his heels. Rosette frowned as she inspected the redness staining her hands. "You idiot!" she snapped, hitting him over the head. "Did you even try to bandage these things!" the skin around his wounds had gone a funny colour, and they were still seeping blood. "Where're your bandages? And Anti-septic?" Chrono rubbed his hands over his white face.

"I-in the cupboard, I think." he whispered. Still scowling, Rosette grabbed them. "Rubbing alcohol is in the cabinet above the sink. Behind the mirror." Dousing a wet cloth with the stuff, Rosette went to work over the wounds. She noticed, with some shame. That she was hurting him.

"Sorry." she confessed, slowing her movements and trying to make them smoother, more soothing. "I thought you'd drowned or something." Chrono shook his head, his teeth clenched.

"No. I got- in the shower-" he winched as she brushed the amplifier. "And realized exactly what hurt." Rosette carefully touched his forehead.

"Are you alright? Your face is flushed. You might have a bit of a fever." Chrono actually smiled. It was small, but it was a smile.

"I don't think that's it. You- um, could you turn around?" Rosette blinked.

"Why?" Chrono had moved when she started cleaning his back, curling hit knees to his chest. Now, his face turned even redder.

"B-because I'm not-" Rosette heart went on a rampage and she leapt up with a squeak, she faced the wall, covering her burning face with her hands until she felt a tug at her leg signalling it was safe. They both sat silently on the wet floor, Rosette leaning against the green painted wall and Chrono with his head on his knees.

"Still feeling sick?" Rosette asked finally. Chrono nodded, raising his head a touch so he could see her.

"Very." he absently touched a wound on his stomach, reaching for the cloth. Rosette caught it before he did and dabbed at it.

"I'll do it." they sat quietly for a while again as she tried to clean the burns. She hit a particularly painful spot and he gasped, grabbing her wrist. Rosette kept her eyes on his face, pained and tired, looking even more worn now that he had his eyes shut. She wondered suddenly if he'd fallen asleep, and reached up, stroking his lean jaw. "Thank you." she hissed, softly. "You didn't have to protect me back there."

"Of course I did." Chrono's eyes captured hers as they opened, their colours vivid. "You're my con- my friend." he smiled and sat up, leaving a red spot on the wall.

"You need those bandaged." She said sternly, looping the white strips around his chest and back. She hoped he wouldn't be scarred, he had a nice back. She checked the thought as he sighed.

"You do know I'm not going to date, ever." he said softly.

"No." Rosette shrugged. "Well, it isn't any of my business." Chrono nodded sadly.

"No. It's not. But I seem to tell you many things that aren't your business."

"Why?" she was curious about that. Mr. Remington had said Chrono was secretive, but she had no reason to believe that now, after all he'd told her.

"I don't know. You're different. You're Rosette." he shrugged. "Maybe it's because you knew me before."

"Maybe." Rosette said, shivering. She tied off the bandage. "All done." she stood and took his hand to pull him up.

"Thank you." he put a hand on the wall to steady himself. "Good night?"

"Good night. You sure you're feeling ok?"

"Nope. I feel horrible, if me being honest helps, but I just need some sleep and I'll be fine. You may want to set your alarm though."

Chrono sighed, watching Rosette slip up the stairs. He blushed, thinking about her walking in on him, but she'd stayed because she was worried about him. _You're stuck with me to the deathbed, if it comes to that_. He chuckled softly, peeking in on Nina. He frowned. The bed seemed awfully full...he grinned, seeing Kino and Marie snuggled up next to their little sister. Well, he decided. Best to join the party seeing as he'd had the same idea. He took the sleeping bag from his room and set up on the floor by the bed so he'd know when they woke up.

A/N: Well, It needs some work...sigh. I'm sorry this took so long to get out. I'm trying to get it back on track. I hope this chapter works. I had a few set backs, that's why I started writing shorter chapters. I tried to write too fast and then I got lost. I have to be careful. I went on a mini vacation yesterday with my family and visited all the touristy places in our area, just for the lark. It turned out to be useful, because I found out there was a steam ship that went between St. John's Newfoundland and New York during the 1920's...I also found out that some of the phrases I use, 'An Awful nice day' (I thought everyone used that), 'Crooked as Sin' (again, I thought it wasn't just here) and my personal favourite, a description of Twanchan's hair: 'a Birch broom in the fits'! Dad taught me that one. Anyway, there's your Newfoundland slang lesson for the day. Sorry this took so long but one can only do their best and try to do better. It turns out I use 'awfully' in place of 'very'. That may clear up some things you found confusing!

PS: Please have patience. The story will be resolved and the loose ends tied. That's the idea! If I miss any, let me know, but remember, there's still plenty of story left to go!


	27. A Final Blow for a Lost Dream

A/N: The last chapter took me so long to write because it was really long, and I had some distractions. Thus, I'm trying to get a jump-start on this one by starting right away. This is chapter 27, and it is not near then end, it that's what the title I settle on indicates. At the time I'm writing this, I'm going to use "The Final Choice for a Broken Dream" but "Torn Heart" will work too, so I have to think. Anyway, I'm blathering away here and not writing, so let's begin, shall we?

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade.

Chapter 27 (Should I be proud or embarrassed?)

"_Gray?" Golden sat back on her perch, tucking her long skirt about her legs as he grunted an uhhuh. "If Chrono is a demon, how can he be reborn? Demon souls are different then humans. Because demons live next to forever, they aren't reborn. Once they die, they're gone, so how can Chrono-" _

_"This is a special case. The Big One wants the worlds bridged, so he came up with a way of having that happen. Chrono was dieing, but he was dieing young for a demon. Very young. If you compared it to human age, he was probably only in his mid-twenties by the time he met Rosette Christopher after his seven year absence. He died with her by his own doing, so he could follow her. That wasn't the first time he was reborn. We've been trying this for years." Gray rested his chin on his hand._

_"A demon has a set lifetime; a soul lives forever, even under contract. Chrono always ends his life to follow Rosette, instinctively. If that doesn't happen, we have to kill him."_

_"I still don't understand how he can be reborn."_

_"Let's say Chrono had 100 years to live. If in his first life he lived to be twenty, then in his next life he'd only have eighty years left, and so on. Once his time runs out, poof, he no longer exists." Golden's eyes widened._

_"He's gone? How much time does he have left?"_

_"Why do you think they have to have fallen in love by the time they're seventeen? He only has a few months past his seventeenth birthday." Gray reached over and squeezed Golden's thin hands._

_This was their last shot at happiness, for all of them. _

_"_Are you sure about this?" the girl asked, shutting her eyes as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"You mean, is it ok?" the man smiled gently, hauntingly. "Very." He whispered, bending his head to kiss her, the action causing light and dark to mix on the pillow.

"I'm home!" Rosette yelled, traipsing in through the front door and shaking rain from her hair. "Chrono? You back?"

"Rosette! Hey, how was work!" Joshua breezed in behind her, dropping his muddy shoes on the rack by the door as he slipped up behind Fi. He whispered something in her ear and she laughed shyly. Rosette had to smile. They were so obvious it wasn't funny. If she was in love with someone, she'd just get right to it.

"You did take it!" Satella flew down the stairs. "Where is it!"

"Where's what?" Ms. Harvenhiet purred as she waltzed down after her. "Ohhhhh. You mean that tacky locket?" she dragged out the word.

'It is not tacky! Viede gave it to me!" Satella threw one of Joshua's shoes at the other. Rosette ducked into the kitchen and closed the door, just in time to avoid being bombarded with flying footwear.

"You've got to do something about them Chrono." she grumbled, grabbing a cloth and washing the table. Chrono looked up, winching as there was a very large crash and shouts of "You idiot!" and "Me!" in the hall.

"I don't think it'd make much difference at this point." he shrugged. "Ow!" he dumped some chopped vegetables into a simmering pot and sucked on his finger. "Sass!"

"You cut yourself?" she asked, coming across the room. Chrono stiffened, his cheeks colouring.

"N-not badly!" he squeaked, turning away and stirring vigorously at the soup. Rosette sighed. He'd been jumpy around her, and it was bugging her.

Bwok. To her annoyance, he didn't even bother asking why she'd hit him. He didn't seem to take any notice of her at all, in fact. She bent down and peered up at him, trying to catch his attention, but his eyes were fixed out the window as he stirred absently.

"Uncle Chrono!" Rosette jumped in surprise, hitting Chrono and sending the soup pot flying. Marie let out a scream and dove under the table for cover as the pot clattered onto the floor, sending soup everywhere.

"Marie!" Chrono grabbed a towel and dropped it on the spill closest to him, blood dripping off his finger.

"Chrono! Rosette! What's going on!" Joshua ran in, only to slip on the sticky wet floor and fall into Fi, who also screamed.

"Who screamed! Is someone hurt?"

"What did Rosette so now?" The two Satella's joined Joshua and Fi on the floor.

"What did I do now?" Rosette roared, descending on Satella's head, adding one more to the growing, very uncomfortable, soup covered pile on the floor.

"Uncle Chrono! Can you help it!" Marie raced out from under the table and held up a tiny, mewing kitten.

"Wh-" Chrono flipped the towel over his shoulder and crouched down, inspecting the yowling, very wet, cat." Is there something wrong wi-"

"Chrono! Give us a hand will- yow!" Satella squealed as Ms. Harvenhiet jabbed her in the stomach with her elbow. Joshua groaned from the bottom of the pile.

"Gerrof me!"

"Ow!"

"You idiot!"

"CHRONO! I'm going to kill you for this!" Still holding the scrambling, clawing kitten, Chrono helped Rosette to her feet before turning back to the kitten and Marie.

"Much better." Satella sighed. "Not so heavy." She got a whack over the head for that one.

"I think she's alright." Chrono informed Marie, handing her the kitten. "You found her? We'll have to look for her owners, but if you don't find one-"

"I can keep her!" At his nod, Marie cheered, throwing herself (and the kitten) at him.

"I HATE YOU!" They all turned to the back door, where Kino was standing, hands fisted at his side. Chrono frowned.

"Kino?" he put Marie down and took a step towards the child. Kino backed away.

"I hate you!" he repeated. "I can't believe you did it!" Rosette looked from nephew to uncle. Something had gone on, that was for sure. "You SOLD it!" Understanding washed across Chrono's face, but with it came a pained look.

"I- I had no choice Kino. You know that." he started, but the boy shook his head.

"No! You could've found another way! Y-you just give up! That's what Aunt Rosette says!" He snarled, racing out the door. Rosette blanched. Yes, she'd thought that but it was weeks ago! Not now! She gasped, turning to Chrono to try and explain, but he just flashed her a confused, hurt look and ran after the child.

"Well." Ms. Harvenhiet said, having finally gotten herself off the floor. "What was that about?" Marie looked sad.

"Uncle Chrono sold his guitar so he could pay for Nina's operation. Kino's mad at him, because he wanted to learn to play like Uncle Chrono." Rosette felt a now familiar tug at her heart. He'd actually sold it?

"He actually sold his guitar?" she squeaked. Ms. Harvenhiet raised an eyebrow.

"He actually had a guitar? I find that most surprising. OH! And what's with the Aunt Rosette bit, mm?" Rosette rolled her eyes, hauled on her raincoat and stomped out the door carrying Chrono's and (what she hoped was) Kino's raincoats. Where had they gone? Stupid Chrono, stupid kid. Now she had to go chasing both of them down. Did stupidness run in families? She wondered as she crossed the street by the little corner store. If it did, Chrono had done a good job of passing it on, without even having kids! Thanks to him, now she was playing mother and getting completely soaked. Stupid, stupid Chrono. Once again, she was out in the pouring rain on his behalf and- it occurred to her that she should probably look around.

"Chrono? Kino?" The houses her tall, stately, not like the ones on Bradford street; with long lawns that were caped with dieing gardens, even the cars were more expensive. Had they come here? Now that she thought about it, she hadn't known what direction they'd gone in. She was lost again! "It's ok Rosette!" she chided herself. "I'm sure it's fine! Just find a landmark!" She looked to the left. A giant house. No help there. To the right...another giant house. "Damn! Now-" she spotted a large field. "Maybe I'll find something there that'll tell me where I am!" She sloshed her way over to what looked like a tower. Blinded by the rain, she craned her head and squinted at the very brightly coloured...slide? The park! Rosette nearly cheered. The park! Now that she was here, she could find her way back! She just had to take the route Chrono always took and-

Which road was that? Rosette groaned and dropped with a splash onto a bench. Now what? She had no idea which road to take, she was still lost!

_Rosette would never give up!_

Rosette scowled. That was a line from the play, one of Brad's and it was in her head again, stupid thing. (In Chrono's voice for some stupid reason.) She still didn't believe Rosette Christopher really existed, not even after reading some of the papers Father Patterson had given them. However, she did agree with her 'character's' policy of never giving up. "That's right," She grinned, slapping her palm with her fist. "She never gave up, and I won't either!" She marched down the road, pleased that she had the determination to try and find her way. Nope, she didn't give up, and she would find Chrono and tell him that while she still thought he was stupid, she had stopped thinking he gave up easily, even though, now that she thought about it, maybe he did...she shook her head. She was going in circles this way, and she had to concentrate on getting home!

"Kino!" Chrono skidded across the muddy yard and peered up into the tree. If this rain kept up, the basement would flood again. "Kino, I'm coming up there whether you like it or not." Grabbing the branch above him, he swung easily into the tall maple. Kino glared at him.

"How'd you get up here? And how'd you know I was here?" Chrono just quirked an eyebrow, sitting with his back against the trunk and ignoring the cold droplets that were dripping under his clothes.

"Marie showed you, right? Who do you think showed her?" he fingered a marking on the tree. "I used to hide here too, when I was upset. I still wish I could sometimes, but hiding doesn't help. The problem's still there when you come down, and sometimes it's worse for the waiting." he grinned, and pointed to Kino's soggy clothing. "And you also end up with a cold." The boy pouted, pushing his wet hair out of his eyes.

"Will not!" he snapped, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "And what are you doing up here? I told you, I hate you!" Chrono shrugged.

"I don't hate you. I came to make sure you were alright. Sometimes families are tough, Kino. Sometimes they do things you didn't want them to do, sometimes they have to do things they didn't want to do, things they would rather avoid doing at all costs."

"Like giving up your dream?" Chrono winched.

"It's just on hold for now, because that's what needs to be done. Later, when I have the time, and the money, I'll pick it up again, maybe once I graduate."

"Do you mean that?" Kino looked sceptical. Chrono smiled, ruffling the boy's hair.

"I intend to." He hated lying, he really did. Especially when he wanted it to be true. Chrono pushed the thought away. He had a family to take care of. And then? A little voice in him needled. What happens when Remington takes them? Then what are you going to do? He planned on helping Remington out as much as possible, before the amplifier worked its was through his spine and paralyzed him. Well, he supposed that's what would happen. Apparently, it was supposed to form a new link in his spine, one that would allow visions to appear more often. That was the last thing he needed. Of course, he could just die first. Clenching his teeth, Chrono slid out of the tree and caught Kino as the boy lost his balance. He'd miss this. He'd miss looking out for these three little pups. They sloshed across the backyard and into the back room.

"Where's Rosette?" Chrono asked, stepping into the kitchen. The group at the table looked blankly up at him, barely stopping their chewing. Ms. Harvenhiet wiped her mouth daintily with a handkerchief.

"I thought she went after you. Out the front." Chrono groaned.

"I've got to go, I've got work. Tell her I'll talk to her later, alright?" There was a chorus of un-huh's from the table as he went to the door and noticed his raincoat was gone. Sighing, he grabbed an umbrella and left. Satella grinned.

"'Tell her I'll talk to her later' ?" she laughed. "Does he sound like an annoyed parent or what?" Az carried her plate to the sink.

"I'm going out." she said softly.

"I dunno." Joshua said around a mouthful of potatoes. "Personally, I think Chrono's got the hots for her. He spends more time with her than the rest of us."

"Aw, but Rosette is spoiled. She needs more time then the rest of us." Satella laughed, waving her hand dismissively.

"I think she likes him." Fi said softly. Satella snorted at the dark haired girl.

"You're just agreeing with Joshy-boy."

"Then why did Kate insist on bringing her along the other day?" Fi retorted, still in her low voice. "Rosette doesn't know the first thing about fighting. She was very good, but-"

"And how do you know she didn't have weapons training? She could be from a part of some sort of-"

"Order?" Ms. Harvenhiet cut Satella off. "I told you, Rosette is the reincarnation of Rosette Christopher, who was an exorcist-"

"That's a load of bull and you know it!" Satella snapped crossly. Ms. Harvenhiet shrugged.

"Believe what you want, but if it means anything, I highly doubt Chrono intends to go strait to work.

Chrono frowned as he stopped by the bench. She had been here, and she'd left. Great. Didn't she know you were supposed to stay put when you were lost? He wanted to think that she wasn't lost, that she'd gotten here and found her way back to the house, but he hadn't passed her on the way, meaning she'd probably taken another road. He sighed. He was going to have to risk opening all the way if he didn't find her soon. He needed to find her and get her home before he had to be at Austy's but...he glanced at his watch. That was unlikely. Shutting his eyes, he tried to concentrate. It would be easier if he had something of hers but, sometimes a memory would do.

Like her cleaning his wounds in the bathroom that night. Chrono slapped a hand to his heating face. That was **not** helping! He shouldn't be thinking of that and yet...

When didn't he? It seemed to be burnt into his mind, just like the feeling of it was burnt onto his back. Sassafras! He had never thought like this with Mary! He'd not worried about her this much. He smiled faintly. Mary hadn't needed this much worrying. She could take care of herself, or so he'd thought.

Maybe he should've worried more. Maybe? No, he berated himself gloomily. He should've. If he had, Mary wouldn't be dead, would she. Rosette wasn't like Mary, not in the slight. She was different, more vibrant, alive. She made him want to dream again- something he couldn't let himself do. Setting his jaw, he headed in the direction her aura seemed to be in.

Why was it that she was always getting wet and/or muddy when she tried to help Chrono? If it wasn't that, she got covered in food remnants or sticky kid fingers or- well, it'd wash off, and it was nothing a warm drink and a shower couldn't handle. No, things were certainly different here, but she had more fun too. Watching each near-disaster work out was invigorating...

If only this one would end. Darn it, but this reminded her of the night of the dance! Chrono had found her that time too. And when she was late for work, and-

"Rosette!" Now. He stumbled up to her from across the street, panting, an umbrella clutched haphazardly in his hands. "Where- have- you - been?" he gasped. "Oh never mind. We need to get ba-" he glanced at his watch, then at the nearest street sign. "Forget it. I'd never make it back to Austy's in time. I'll get you a cab when we get there." Chrono swiped his dripping braid over his shoulder and wiped moisture from his face, leaving muddy streaks. Rosette giggled, dodging a puddle. He was a mess!

Chrono looked down and chuckled, sensing her amusement. He was completely covered in mud from when a truck had gone by and splashed him. He wasn't, however, the only one, he noticed, for she was covered in mud and muck too, from her blond hair to her soggy shoes.

"We better hurry." he said, plucking a leaf from her tangled hair. Rosette looked away, her face tinged pink. Was she sick?

"Are you ok?" Bending trying to tell if she had a fever, he shifted, holding the umbrella over her head. The action, unfortunately sent the water on top of the umbrella all over his head. The blond girl burst into laughter, the giggles only growing louder as he sneezed.

"You- You idiot! Come on, you're getting soaked." she took his arm and pulled him closer so he was under the umbrella...er, mostly. He would still get soaked at this rate, she thought, biting her lip. He was awfully tall.

"You plan on walking like this?" Chrono asked, a slight smirk on his dirty face. She had to grin. He was practically standing on top of her.

"Nope." Giving an I-don't-care-what-you-think look to a curious couple passing by, Rosette grabbed Chrono's arm, wrapped it around her waist (Yeesh his hands were big!) and pressed herself to his side. "I plan on walking like this." She peered up at him, but his face was shadowed by the umbrella. It didn't help that he was very determinedly staring away from her.

"You have got to be kidding. We won't get very far." He grumbled, but he started walking anyway. Rosette smiled, feeling him relax, just a little, his arm settling smoothly around her as she leaned slightly into his warm body. Maybe it was a good thing the umbrella cast a shadow, she thought with a blush as they met eyes for the thirtieth time in five minutes. At least this way he can't see that my face is the colour of a fire truck! Then again... her eyes slid up his neck, a very nice shade of red itself. Maybe, just maybe, he had that little flock of butterflies flitting about within his chest, and maybe, just maybe, he too was feeling like this was...something that was right. He sighed.

"I'm sorry, Rosette. I'm probably getting you soaked. Do you want-"

"If you plan on walking in the rain so I can stay dry, forget it buster!" she clamped her fingers around his arm, quiet for a moment as she got over her surprise at its hardness. Well, you were bound to build up muscles hauling kids around, weren't you? "I told you before, Chrono. You have to be less self-sacrificing. You're going to do something you really regret someday." She met his gaze and held it this time. "Or maybe," she gulped, "Maybe you already have done things you regret." She could practically feel his resignation.

"No, I didn't want to sell the guitar. Aw sass Rosette, I...I really didn't want to," his hand loosened, and Rosette regretted bringing the topic up. "But it-"

"Doesn't matter what you want. Oh blah blah blah and give your ego a break from playing hero! It get's old you know." They rounded a corner and Chrono ducked, shielding her from a splash sent up by a passing car. Rosette twisted and hit him over the head. "That's exactly what I mean! Now you're even wetter, and you're the one who has to work!" Maybe he didn't even think about doing it any more. Rosette rolled that thought around in her head. Maybe- he was trying hard not to grin. A dimple had appeared on his cheek and that idiot knew exactly what he was doing! She hit him in the shoulder.

"If you want me to stop protecting you," he said, an odd tone in his voice as his gaze warmed her face. "Then stop making me feel like I have to protect you." They stopped, for they were at the door to Austy's. Chrono stepped back slightly and shook out the umbrella.

"What?" Was that it? Did he think she couldn't take care of herself? Her head was acting funny. Was it so bad he felt like that? He wasn't avoiding her now.

Or did it mean he saw her like one of the kids? The thought made her stomach turn. Like another daughter to him? She couldn't stand to think of that, because then she would be a burden!

"I said, stop making me want to protect you, if you want me to stop being selfishly selfless." his eyes sparkled, even in the dimness of the awning. "But then," he tipped his head, as if measuring his words, or her, or his thoughts, or something else. "Maybe you're right, maybe it is my ego. Or maybe it's a pain to cancel out other pains, but whatever it is; it's an awfully strong draw. I might need some help to break away." he'd stepped closer, as if he couldn't help it, like she was a pull.

"Chrono! There you are! Man, you are a mess, will you hurry up! Ah, feeling better Rosette, I see. I hate to interrupt, But I need my employee. Hurry up Chrono!" Rosette and Chrono jumped apart as Austy yelled from the window above. Some guys walking by chuckled. Chrono rubbed vigorously at the back of his hand, as if trying to figure out what had just happened, and Rosette felt just as confused. "Chrono!"

"Coming!" He yelled back. "Do you need a ride home?" Rosette shook her head. "And you're sure?" he asked, seemingly back to his constantly worrying self.

"I'll go home when I'm ready. I brought money, 'k?" He nodded and darted inside, holding the door open so she could follow.

Someone tell me I didn't say that. Chrono resisted the urge to pace as a panicky feeling began in his already overactive chest. Someone tell me I didn't nearly give in and kiss her, that I didn't say I want to protect her. Protecting meant he cared, and while he did, she didn't need to know and- he filled a drink for a guy who seemed familiar, but his head was a wreak at the moment and he could barely give change. He hadn't said he'd protect her, had he?

He'd said he wanted to protect her, and yes, he did. But the person she would need the greatest protection from was him. Besides, it wasn't right for a nun to love a demon, and Sister Kate- sas'n'vin, it was happening again! That life was over. He couldn't love her then, because he was a demon. Now, he just had a demon soul, so maybe...

No. He staunched the hope before it let itself in. Maybe it was because of his ego, maybe he felt like he had to make up for something, but he couldn't allow Rosette to come to care for him, because he had a demon soul. Having a demon soul meant he would hurt her in the end; he would die. She deserved better, someone who would love her forever. He couldn't. Chrono tore his eyes off the blond haired woman dancing by the stage. He wanted to be that man who could love her forever.

Maybe some life he would.

Rosette took a peek at the now-clean violet haired bartender, her face pink again. He was working hard, talking to customers and carrying things around for Austy. He seemed so focused.

_Then stop making me want to protect you._ She gulped. He'd said, over and over he didn't want a girlfriend. Had he given up trying to hold her off- and why was she even thinking like that? Why would she go out with him? They were friends, he saw her like a sister, he'd said so himself, and that was probably what he'd meant! (Whew.) Rosette wiped sweat from her face (She'd already washed up and brushed her hair in the washroom. Hurrah for Chrono's stock of be-prepared-for-anything stuff!) and went to sit at a table near the stage, because she wanted to listen to the music. She'd never considered herself a jazz person, or blues, but this was nice.

"He solved the complication?" Rosette turned. That voice was familiar.

"Quiet nicely. And we got the papers. But are you sure about-"

Oh yes. It must be very loose by now, and the boss says the more stress, the weaker the ties will become."

"Is this the final-"

"Rosette! What are you doing here?" Rosette looked up as Jacob plunked himself down beside her, setting his drink on the table. "I didn't think a girl like you would come here."

"Who me?" she smiled. "Chrono works here, so I tagged along for awhile today. Why're you here?" she inspected his drink, much to his amusement.

"Relax, no booze. I need to keep on my toes." his eyes were following something and Rosette followed his gaze. "Damn the bastard!" She jumped as he mouthed off. A scowl on his face, Jacob downed his drink and slammed the container onto the table. "Now I wish I could get drunk!" Rosette squinted at the couple, a scantily dressed girl and a guy with a loud voi- Brad! The guy was Brad. The couple went to the dance floor and Rosette got a look at the girl.

Azmaria? Rosette spewed Pepsi over the table, choking.

"What? Rosette, are you alright?" Jacob pounded her on the back.

"Yes, yes but- Brad and AZ!" Jacob looked miserable.

"Unfortunately, yes. He asked her out the other day, and she agreed." Jacob leaned his chin onto his palm, staring at the couple. Rosette took a sip of her drink, watching him. Were all people in love so obvious? It was a wonder it took people so long to go out.

"Jacob -can I call you Jake?-" Judging by the green colour on his face, Brad had done something particularly sleazy, as if dancing with Az wasn't sleazy enough.

Bwok.

"OW!" Jake yelped. "What was tha-" Rosette grabbed his arm and yanked him onto the dance floor.

"Come on! Let's show Az what she's missing, and let's show Brad how to dance. Sitting around like a wounded puppy isn't going to help."

"What? But Rosette- Rosette, I don't know how-"

"This isn't a place for formal stuff Jakey, sheesh, you're as bad as Chrono! Cut loose for once." Even as she said it, her eyes drifted over to the counter, watching him pouring drinks. Did it bother him to be stuck on the sidelines? He kept himself there, but when he really couldn't do anything about it...

She'd been dancing with that Jacob guy for the entire evening. Chrono sighed, trying to make himself feel happy that she was having fun. Well, that was good. Very distracting, but good. He'd have to remember never to bring Rosette to work again. He couldn't concentrate, and he needed to. He couldn't afford to loose this job, he was stretched as thin as he could be, money wise, but he was fine for now, thanks to selling the guitar.

He hadn't wanted to. That was what he told them all, Rosette, Kino, Austy, but that was such an understatement it was nearly a lie.

He'd known years ago, when he first took over care of the kids that the dream probably wouldn't be realized, but he'd still played a little here and there, mostly here, like he was tonight. However, probably meant there was still a chance, a teeny tiny but still existent chance, that he could go on with the dream, so he'd kept the guitar. Having it reminded him of what he would be one day, it had started him playing, heard all his foul notes, and it would hear him become an honest singer, one with no secrets, one who could be respected, not a big fake like his brother.

Selling the guitar meant that all hopes of that happening were gone. He might be able to save up and buy a new one, but doing that would be selfish. No, tonight would be his last performance front and centre. After this, he wasn't sure he could walk on a stage without breaking his heart, even playing back up.

It was fitting that his last performance (and no one knew it was his last one) would be a set of Blues songs. He smiled at the irony as he sat down at the piano. He'd told Austy he wouldn't be playing the guitar tonight, that he'd play piano. There was already one there, and it would shake things up a bit. Trying to smile, he shut his eyes before throwing himself into the music.

After tonight, he'd never, ever do this again. Tonight was a night to cut it a little looser, and that would explain his actions towards Rosette.

After tonight, they'd be landlord and tenet, or even revert to just friends. She seemed to be having fun with Jacob, although he hadn't risked opening his eyes to see how she'd responded to his playing, how anyone had. It wasn't unusual for him to get lost in the music, but he usually held himself back, to some extent. Tonight though, tonight, he'd throw in his soul.

Rosette had just finished dancing to a fast, funky song when the piano started. For a moment, she hadn't realized what it was, then he started singing and everyone froze, time froze. Even Austy, who had to've heard him practice looked shocked.

"I-Is that who I think it is?" Jacob sputtered. "Tell me that's not Chrono?" Rosette nodded, the action making the fact sink in. He could sing pop, he could sing musicals.

It never occurred he could sing blues, although, when she thought about it, it made sense, and boy, could he sing. Rosette stood and stared like the rest, silent, captured by the ropes and tiny webs of music, of the song, of him. Rosette's heart was going to burst out her mouth any minute, it was jumping around so badly. It was like a torrent had been freed, like they were seeing something that had been kept carefully hidden, songs that she hadn't even thought could exist. Sorrow, pain, hope, anguish, dreams, joys, passion, all alike and different, wound into a stream that was a life.

This was him, and he was telling them in a way that was haunting, quiet, chilling and beautiful. It wasn't a complaint, it was fact he'd accepted, and they'd have to accept it too, if they were to accept him. Without realizing it, the crowd began to move, for the music, the voice, that roaring piano, drew out a need to dance, to be, to live, to exist while you still had time.

Sadly, however, like all beings trapped in time, eventually, the music stopped, and Chrono came shakily to his feet as the crowd cheered, their approval clear. Rosette hopped up and down, trying to see him over the too-tall people ahead of her. Stupid idiots. Austy came up onto stage and announced that it was closing time and the bar cleared out, slowly, with people chattering away. Rosette and Jake headed over to where Austy was talking to Chrono.

"Ah Chrono," Austy grinned heartily. "You'll do well with the sharks of the music world, just you wait!" Chrono said nothing, picking up his umbrella and pulling stray hairs back into a ponytail.

"That was awesome Chrono!" Rosette hung back as Jake bounded over. Something wasn't right, Chrono's eyes seemed dark, like he was hiding something. Still, she beamed and ran over.

"You were amazing! Play that for a record company and you're set. Or could you play it like that again?" She grinned, trying to bait him.

"I won't be playing again." Chrono said dully. "I'm not singing like that anymore." they stared at him.

"What? But you're our music-"

"I'll still handle equipment and all, and I'll still play back up. I don't want any sets of my own though. Good night." He turned and left, leaving them to gape after him.

"I'll talk to him." Rosette ran to join him, but found that for once, she couldn't say anything.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have played tonight." Chrono said finally as they neared the house. "I- well, I didn't want to sell the guitar, because it meant that I'm giving in. The kids'll be ok now, because Remington will look after them once I'm gone, and until then, I have enough money to handle it." he kicked at a pebble. "But it hurts to give it up, and it hurts to sing. Even playing back up will be hard." Rosette looked sidelong at the dejected teen. Selling the guitar had really affected him more then she'd thought. It had to kill your heart to know that you would never be able to do the thing you knew you could do.

"I'm sorry I was so pushy over it. I shouldn't have asked earlier." She caught his fingers and clamped her hand around them. "But friends are supposed to be able to talk about these things."

"About that-" Chrono's eyes widened as he saw something over her head. She turned, spotting a large SUV by the house.

"Who-"

"Aion." They ran up to the house, dodging the car and stepping inside to hear laughter. It was only when she tried to take off her coat that Rosette realized Chrono hadn't let go of her hand. She gave a little tug and reluctantly let go as he moved ahead into the kitchen.

"Chrono!" Shader squealed, rushing over. "And Rosette!" They were shepherded into the kitchen, where, sitting at the table looking smug as can be, was Aion. Instantly, Rosette could feel Chrono's change in stance.

"What do you want." he folded his arms, red and gold eyes blazing. Aion wasn't welcome here. Rosette studied the platinum haired man. He was up to something, the rat, and judging by the look on his face it was-

"Chrono, why, you don't seem very happy to see your brother hmm?" Aion stood, circling his younger sibling. "Well, you don't seem up for chatting, and it is late. Shader here has to get back to her hubby!" Shader blushed, something Rosette had never seen her do. "So let's get this over with quickly, eh little brother? Alright." he clapped his hands and Rosette heard the front door slam. Aion grinned as Chrono's face went white. "Chrono, may I introduce Tawny, Kye and Ben, your new housemates, or should I say, your new sons and daughters."


	28. Wake up Call

A/N: I have no idea what people thought of last chapter because I just posted it when I started writing this. (It takes a couple days or more to write the chapter, that's why these notes don't make any sense.) However, I am once again stuck as to where this is going and oh yeah. I was asked how many chapters this was going to be in a pm, and I forgot to answer...I'm sorry. I don't really know how long this is going to be...but it may be going on for a while yet, especially at the rate I'm going. Look at it this way, I can write short chapters and have them up quickly for you to complain about the length, or I can write long chapters and have you complain about update time. Lose-lose. What we need is medium chapters, mm? Sabe? Great! That means no more 6040 or whatever the last chapter was chapters, so sorry, but they're hard to write (and edit) so nope. I will do my best no matter what the length though, so I really hope you like my story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade.

Chapter 28...I don't believe this.

_"Let go of me Gray! I have to go kill Aion! Aion you bastard! You are going to hell, do you hear me!"_

_"Golden! Golden, lay off, will you?" Gray groaned, trying to keep his hold on the lived angel._

_"Hold off?" she shrieked, her voice more piercing than a harpy's talons. "Hold off? Tell that to him!" she pointed at the smug man on the ground below. "He's giving-"_

_"Enough."_

_Yes, this would work nicely. Superior grinned, tossing back his long hair. The boy was worrying already, and with his soul already loose...ah yes, he would have his victory, for the only angel that could possibly stop this was well into his spell, completely unsuspecting. That was the nice thing about soldiers, they didn't think. Well, except one, but he didn't count, because he'd been on the verge of betrayal anyway._

For a moment, Chrono stared at the three gloweringly mistrustful children standing in the doorway. Two boys and a girl, all vastly different.

Tawny, the girl, maybe eight or nine, had violet eyes that pierced with challenge beneath her blue hair. Judging by her aura though, she was scared out of her wits. He squinted, noticing the telltale lilac in the coloured cloud around her. Sassafras.

The oldest of the boys, Kye, had black hair and eyes, his skin slightly darker than his half sister's. His aura was that of total boredom. The kid had been through this before.

Finally, he looked to Ben, obviously the youngest, for he was only Nina's age, maybe less. This boy's hair was red and it fell over his green eyes, already hidden by thick glasses. This kid liked books and he liked knowing how things worked, but he was shy. He'd have trouble with girls later on, Chrono smiled, an image of a gangly teen in his head. He'd feel over shadowed by his siblings all- Chrono felt his eyes widened as he saw the group. He recognised Kino, Marie and Nina, all older, in their teens and early twenties, as well as these three but...sweet demons! He shook his head, clearing the vision and glared at Aion. Now what? Did he take them? He didn't have a choice, but did he take them with a fight, or did he just accept them? Rosette thought he should tell Aion to go to hell with his little brats and Chrono had to bite his lip to avoid laughing. Ben's legs were shaking. The kid was tired; he'd travelled from...the states? Aion was a busy man, wasn't he.

Well, there wasn't much of a choice, was there.

"Aion. Get out." he stalked past his brother and crouched in front of the kids. Ben leapt back in surprise, Kye narrowed his eyes and Tawny stiffened, but he smiled at them and held out a hand (he needed three). "Hi. I'm Chrono D'Crusa, your uncle. Pleased to meet you."

Rosette folded her arms over her chest and glared at Aion who merely smiled winningly back. She snorted. What a pair. The player and the idiot, for that was truly what Chrono was for not shoving the three brats in his brother's face, or at least putting up a fight. Her stomach churned in annoyance. He acted like a doormat, and look what it got him. Another trio of brats to go with the three kids he already had. She couldn't understand why he didn't send the lot packing, along with his smug brother.

Because they were like him. Rosette gasped, her fingers finding the table as the feelings rushed over her. Worry about how he'd care for them; curiosity of what they liked; what they'd been through, what their dreams were. She groaned and slapped her forehead.

Chrono was as soft hearted as he was kind, and try as she might, she couldn't stay annoyed at him for caring about the children's welfare before who their father was. Naw, if Chrono wasn't so soft hearted, she doubted she'd like him so much. Chrono winched.

"I'll have to remember to shut down around you." he grumbled as he straitened and turned to face Aion, keeping himself between the kids, though why he did so when it was clear Aion had no intention of doing anything other than leaving them was pointless to wonder about. "Are you finished?" he asked coldly. "You can take your leave." Aion chuckled, leaned back in his chair and putting his black booted feet upon the table.

"Ah, my little brother. For one so adapt at gaining things that take so much money, you have an air about you to be sure."

"Yes. And you'll have nothing about you but worms and dirt if you don't leave. Now." Rosette raised an eyebrow and the three children gasped, Tawny giggling and Kye allowing a quick grin to flash across his face. Aion inspected his fingernails, glancing at Chrono over his tiny spectacles.

"Are you threatening me, Chrono? I'm afraid if you are, I must press charges." Shader looked between the two, unusually quiet, her eyes hidden by her unruly hair while Chrono rolled his eyes and resumed talking with the children. Rosette was not so polite.

"Charges!" she snarled, stomping across the tiled floor. "Charges? He should be the one pressing a lawsuit against you!"

"Tch. Look at that. A hangnail. That is most annoying, especially considering I just had a manicure this morning. Ah well, such services aren't so well taken care of here in Newfoundland, eh Rosette? Surely you must miss it, all the salons. You must admit, I'm taking a great amount of foolishness to direct your play, so please don't miss any practices." Aion pulled a file from his pocket and started working on his fingernail. Red clouding her vision, Rosette made to take a step forward, her fist raised, but before she could, there was a **crack**! And the back legs of the chair broke neatly off, sending Aion to the floor with a satisfying thump.

"Oops." Chrono said softly, a hint of a smirk behind his smoothly 'concerned' face as he stood over the silver haired man. "I guess the chair was a little flimsy. Let me help you." To Rosette's surprise, he held out a hand and started to help Aion to his feet. She barely saw his golden eye flit to a glass of grape juice on the table before he yelped 'oops' and the glass plunged off the table onto Aion's pure white trench coat.

Aion rose to his feet, his eyes flashing for a moment before he set a suave smile onto his face.

"You're as pathetic as ever, little brother. So dreadfully clumsy." Chrono pretended to bow.

"My apologies, brother dear. It was an accident; I assure you, and one that rests quite firmly in the fact that it is so terribly late. Had it been earlier, it mightn't have happened."

"Earlier, hm? I'll keep that in mind next time I drop by." Chrono's eye twitched, but he calmly waved his hand towards the door.

"Next time it is then." Aion sauntered from the house, leaving them in the kitchen.

"I have to go, Chrono!" Shader squeaked. "A-Austy will be wondering where I am." she fled from the room, slamming the front door behind her. Chrono sighed and shook his head, starting to mop up the spill. Rosette put her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Chrono, I know perfectly well those chairs are strong, and that you were no where near that glass." Chrono blinked at her, widening his eyes as he dumped the glass in the garbage and put the broken chair in the corner so he could look at it in the morning.

"Why Rosette." he spread his hands, a mischievous smile on his face that told her exactly what she'd suspected. "You aren't accusing me of using my powers to, shall we say...negotiate with my dear brother." he clapped a hand to his heart. "You wound me." He grinned sheepishly, his bangs flopping into his eyes and making him look like a little kid who'd just been found in the electronics department when he was supposed to be looking for clothes. Before she could fully study the change in persona however, he had moved to look at the kids, hands on his narrow hips.

"Alright then you three. You'll have to share rooms with the others, of course, but you'll meet them in the morning. For now, let's just get you settled." he shepherded them to the basement, then waved a quick good night to Rosette as they clattered into the dim hole that was Chrono's apartment. Rosette shook her head, her eyes landing on the broken chair, a grin pulling at her lips as she remembered the look on Aion's face, along with the laughter from the new children. Oh yes, Chrono had known exactly what he was doing, there was no accident about the chair or the grape juice. Still, she decided with a smile as she slipped into bed a few minutes later, it was much more fun watching Chrono taking care of the problem, even though she longed to give Aion a noogie attack, just to make him pay. Chrono's way seemed much more fun, if he ever planned on doing anything like that again. Still, Aion deserved it, especially after bringing Chrono more children to look after. Why didn't the mothers just do it?

Chrono sighed as he lay back on the couch, winching as the tender skin around the amplifier brushed the rough upholstery. He'd managed to get the three new children settled away, Kye in with Kino, Tawny with Marie andBen in his room. No, they were fine for tonight. Biting his lip in frustration as his neck twinged again, he rolled onto his side, his eyes landing on the alarm clock he'd set on the table. 4:30. He'd be getting up in an hour and a half and that would be the amount of sleep he'd get. It was better then nothing, and he needed it. He'd need some wits about him the next morning to try and solve rooming problems, food problems, school problems, work problems, more money problems...he moaned and burrowed his face in the pillow. He could do this. You could solve anything; you just had to figure out how. A little ingenuity was all it took.

And time, which had to be used very carefully, seeing as his was limited.

That had never stopped Rosette, and he wouldn't let it stop him- even if the Rosette who taught him that wasn't the one who was sleeping upstairs. It was getting hard to tell when he was thinking about now and when he was remembering then, that other life.

He'd sort things out. The kids were depending on him, and he wouldn't let them down! Chrono smiled with the resolution and allowed his eyes to shut...

"Aiii! Uncle Chrono!" Chrono leapt out of bed with a shout as Marie screamed.

"Gyaagh! Who're you!" Kino was yelping from his room. Chrono sank back on the couch, a hand over his eyes as he tried to get around the fact his head was pounding. There was a flurry of footsteps in the hall and he heard a door being thrown open.

"Aiii! Kino! Come quick! Uncle Chrono got turned into a little kid! With red hair!"

"That isn't Chrozo, or whatever his name is, that's Ben." Kye grumbled as he stomped after them.

"It's Chrono, and he's our uncle so shut up!" Marie snapped, a yelp of pain following.

"Hey! What's the deal! Girls aren't supposed to hit- ow! And he's my uncle too, not that I care- ow! Stupid girls!"

"What's going on?" Nina's soft voice drifted over the fray, which, Chrono noted as he stepped into the hall, had gone on to be between Kino and Kye, Kino joining in because Kye had insulted his sister.

"That's enough, all of you." The two boys stopped fighting, looking up at him, Kino looking sheepish and Kye looking like he didn't care. Setting his mouth in a line, Chrono picked up both boys by the scruff of the neck and carried them into the basement sitting room, dropping them in opposite chairs. Marie followed, chatting with Tawny, the two girls thankfully having gotten over any differences they'd had on waking. Ben perched on a chair by the door, as if prepared to flee, but Nina sat beside him and gave him a smile, reaching over to take his hand. "Now then." Chrono put his hands on his hips and looked sternly at each child. "Marie, Kino, Nina, I'd like you too meet your siblings, Tawny, Kye and Ben." he pointed at each child as he named them, more for the sake of showing everyone who was called what. "It's going to be a little crowded, so you're going to have to try and get used to it, I'm afraid."

"Do we get our own rooms?" Kye asked; a scowl slathered all over his face. "At home I did." Chrono gave the kid a crooked smile.

"This is home kiddo. I'm sorry to say you'll be sharing."

"What about the rooms upstairs? There seems to be lots." Tawny pushed her wiry hair back behind her ears and squinted, trying to see. Ben adjusted his glasses and Chrono took the opportunity to sit down in the remaining chair.

"I have people staying in those rooms. Our part is the basement." Chrono glanced at the clock, frowning. "Alright. Nina, Marie, Kino. You three go get dressed; you have school today. I'll come up to make breakfast in a few minutes." Marie nodded curtly and hopped up, Nina at her heels. Kino rolled his eyes, following with a groan. After they'd left, Chrono lent back and surveyed the three new children. "Did you guys bring anything with you? Clothing or anything?" All three shook their heads to the negative. "Right." Running his hands through his hair, Chrono chewed on his lip. This was something he hadn't been expecting. However, you could make anything work if you had to. "I guess we'll be going shopping today. What would you guys like for breakfast?"

"Fruit salad."

"Bacon and eggs."

"Pizza!" Ben and Tawny stared at Kye who looked embarrassed. Chrono laughed.

"Well, I'll try and find something. Come on," he could hear Kino, Marie and Nina bickering their way up the stairs. "You can all help with it."

Rosette was sure an army had invaded the house. At 7:00, the halls were filled with the sounds of pounding footsteps and the sound of doors being banged open as the 'Wake Up' brigade set to work.

One minute, Satella was peacefully sleeping. The next minute, someone banged a pair of pot lids over her head.

"What! What the-"

A couple rooms over, Azmaria ran her brush through her hair. Would Brad like it down? She wondered, pulling it into a ponytail. He didn't seem like a down hair kind of guy, unless it was cemented with hairspray.

"Hi, it's time to- aw. You're up already." Kino grumbled. "I didn't get to dump water over you."

"You didn't get to what-" By the shriek in the next room and the grin on Kino's face, Ms. Harvenhiet hadn't been so lucky.

"You little brat! Chrono you rat, we've been invaded, so get up!" Azmaria was nearly trampled as a blue haired girl was chased from the room, her arms over her head.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she yelped, fleeing. "Uncle Chrono!" Ms. Harvenhiet stopped in her tracks.

"You're _another_ of his nieces? How many frikkin' kids does Aion have?"

"Um...five others, here." Tawny said blankly, peeking out from a closet. "Are you going to hit me?"

"Auug!" Satella grinned as she stepped into the hall, mopping water of her face.

"It appears Joshua has just been acquainted with out new guests." she said, looking amused. There were more screams from upstairs, as well as some younger sounding yelps. "Chrono, there you are." her grinned turned to a scowl as she glared at the purple haired teen opening Rosette's door. "What's the big idea setting those brats on us?"

"Rosette!" Chrono ducked behind the door as the pillow flew towards him, followed by several other, not-so-soft books. He smiled weakly at the rest of that floor's occupants. "You all need to get up, don't you? I can't go around to every room, every morning. Either you get up on time or..." He gestured to the chaos causing kids who had all tried to hide behind him from the not so happy boarders. "Anyway, breakfast is on the table." Reluctantly, the others stomped downstairs, leaving Chrono to wake up Rosette.

"So why did we have to wake up the others?" Tawny asked Marie as they went downstairs, her voice shaking. Marie shrugged.

"Because Uncle Chrono's trying to get a lot of stuff done this morning."

"Besides," Kino said with a grin. "We had the easy job. Uncle Chrono's got to wake up Rosette, and she's twenty times as bad as the others." On cue, there was a loud 'thwack' from upstairs, and several words screamed so fast they couldn't understand them.

"If I wasn't so pissed off at him, I'd feel sorry for him." Satella grinned as she watched Chrono come down the steps, rubbing a very large swelling on his head.

"I pity Rosette's future husband." Joshua said, loading his plate with eggs. "And I pity us if we have to go through this every morning." He glared at the kids. Marie stuck out her chin and met his glare defiantly.

'It's your own fault for sleeping so late."

"I am going to kill you one of these days, Chrono." Rosette snarled upon her entrance into the kitchen. Chrono waved cheerfully at her then continued the conversation he was having on the phone. Rosette rolled her eyes. "Honestly."

"Hey Rosette, we have practice today. Are you going to be late?" Joshua teased. Rosette started to toss an apple at him, but thought better of it and ate it instead.

"Practice for what?" Ben asked, munching on a bowl of cereal.

"A play." Az said enthusiastically. "It's called Not So Good, Not so Evil."

"Our school is performing it." Satella continued. "Viede, pass the pears, please."

"Oh. Is it fun?" Kye asked, looking interested in the subject for once.

"Very." Joshua grinned at the same time as Rosette grumbled, "Not really." Everyone stared at her.

"B-But Rosette! You're the lead!" Az gasped. Rosette snorted.

"I can't have fun on something when I know it's going to be terrible as long as Brad's in the lead male role."

"You're just upset Chrono didn't get it!" Az squeaked, her face going pink. "Brad's a great singer!" Kye glanced at Chrono, still talking on the phone, but looking more and more frustrated by the minute.

"Uncle Chrono tried out?" He said incredulously. Ms. Harvenhiet nodded.

"Yes, he did. And he would've done well with the lead."

"Aw come on! What have you guys got against Brad. Sure his voice isn't really what you think of for musicals, but it isn't that bad." Joshua grumbled.

"Ms. Harvenhiet, can I borrow your sewing machine today?" Chrono came over to the table and nabbed an apple. Ms. Harvenhiet blinked.

"Sure, but...what do you-" Chrono smiled weakly.

"It's nothing important. Anyway, come on you six, I've got to get some of you to school." Rosette heard the group clatter through the hall and go out through the door.

"He's insane." Satella sighed, shaking her head. "Truly insane."

"Aion is insane." Rosette countered, standing to go get her bag. "They're his kids." Moodily, she stomped towards the door. It was way too early for school, but she wanted out of here. Still muttering, Rosette opened the door, only to walk strait into Mr. Remington.

"Rosette! Is Chrono here?" She froze, staring at the teacher. For someone who was supposed to be going to work in a little while, he seemed distracted, with his blond hair in a mess and his clothes rumpled.

"No, he just left. He was taking the kids to school. Why?" Remington swore, raking a hand through his hair, making it stand up even more.

"Damn! I've been trying to get hold of him all morning, but the phone was busy. There was a complication in the adoption papers. They're missing, but more then that...aug, I'll just go find him." Remington turned on his heel and tore up the street.

"What was that about." Satella asked, coming up behind Rosette. The blond shrugged, but her stomach was twisting. Something wasn't right, and Chrono was worrying about a decision he was about to make. She could feel it, all the way here, from where ever he was now. She'd have to ask him later, at school.

a/n: hi. I'm sorry if this chapter seems fillerish, but I needed them to get up. If I went the way I've been going with the long chapters, this would only be the first bit, then there would be more. However, since I intend to stick with medium chapters, this is the end of this chapter. Sorry. There will be more soon. It's just been really busy, and I hardly got any writing done over the past few days. Anyway, All you need is patience!


	29. A Search for Answers

A/N: Hi guys. I'm hoping this chapter won't take so long to write, but with school starting soon...ah the horror. Especially seeing as I start high school this year. Oh well, just like I can't hold off being 16, I can't hold off school, and I probably wouldn't want to anyway, because I am a hopeless booky girl...you know, those freaks with thick glasses that're reading all the time with no social skills and waaaay to high marks? Yeah, I'm one of them...except now I've got a summer of people skills under my belt from working at a bookstore. Whoo! Well, people expectations are gunna be tossed to the winds...or not. And why exactly am I talking about this? Well, If I wasn't booky, I wouldn't be writing, so go booky girls...and guys! (Note: I prefer 'booky' over 'nerdy', but it's about the same thing.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono crusade. I don't even wish I did, because then I wouldn't be writing this.

Chapter 29

_"Hey Gray?"_

_"Uhhuh?"_

_"Why does God want to bridge Heaven and Hell anyway? I mean, why would he want to do that? I still don't see why he doesn't just make Chrono a human. He's earned it. There are humans that're much crueller then he is."  
"I don't know why. Superior won't tell me. Anyway, it isn't our place to question."_

_"But you could help them, Chrono and Rosette, I mean. You could make Chrono's soul a human's, then, even if he died, he would have to-"_

_"He is what he is, Golden. I'd be killed for breaking the high one's law."_

Rosette stomped up the steps and into the empty school. It was only twenty five after seven, and the school was empty. Even the earliest students wouldn't be here for some thirty-five minutes, and unless they had work to do, they'd stay outside, enjoying one of the few remaining nice days left in October. She had no idea what she was going to do. The others wouldn't be here until at least quarter after eight, and who knew when Chrono would get here. Sighing, she pushed open the gym doors and glared at the stage. She had practice first period this morning, and she really, really didn't want to go. However, the only reason Aion was here was for the play, and she might as well get that purpose over with so he could leave as soon as it was done and get the wretched fiend out of her (and Chrono's) hair. Then again; she thought as she clambered up onto the wooden platform; she'd be leaving then too, at the end of the year. It felt like she'd been here forever, like she couldn't remember a time when she hadn't been here, and yet, it was only what? Coming on two months? She couldn't imagine what it would be like to live back at her parent's house, with no other people her age, no breakfast bickering, no kids running about, no Chrono waking her up in the morning.

Rosette shook her head. That was a long way off. It was only October, and she would see all of them almost every day, for the next eight months. She needed to do something so she would stop thinking. Spying a microphone, she grabbed up and flicked it on, launching into a rendition of "A Second Chance", one of the songs from the second part of the play, where both Rosette and Chrono were reborn. It was an odd part, and it didn't feel nearly as right as the first part, but she still loved this particular song. She threw back her head and sang, revelling in the way her voice filled the auditorium and returned to wash over her, the way the melody rose and fell, crescendo and dim, she loved this. It was like the music took a life of its own, and stifling it would be murder to the soul. Any soul.

"You're a very good singer, Rosette. It appears Aion did something right by putting you in the lead." Rosette gasped, dropping the mike.

"Ms. Valentine!" The brown haired teacher was standing in the doorway, a sorrowful expression in her eyes. Rosette leapt off the stage and ran over, grabbing the woman's arm. "Okay teach! You've got some questions to answer! Why the heck aren't you and the other mother's looking after Aion's kids! Why're you letting them be dumped on Chrono!" she forced Ms. Valentine into a chair, but the woman pressed her lips shut.

"I can't tell you things that have nothing to do with you. That agreement is between Aion's family-"

"Oh lay off with the crap! You know why Chrono's stuck with six kids, and I want some answers! I mean, come on! It's hard enough going to school and having a job, but paying bills and looking after kids? That's too much!" Rosette crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at her science teacher.

"I could give you detention for this, you know. And Chrono isn't going to school anymore. He just dropped by and said that he was going to continue his schooling via online courses. He's not part of this school."

"Why is he looking after your kids?" Rosette paused, realizing what the teacher had just said. Chrono wasn't in school anymore? Kate sighed and stood.

"Come into my office. I'm not talking about this out here where Aion might walk in on us. If anyone asks, I was lecturing you over your violent behaviour!" Kate seized Rosette's arm and pulled her through the school until they reached a small room. It was small but comfortably furnished, with a wooden desk and soft, plush chairs in pink and green. Kate motioned for her to sit in the pink one as she sat behind the desk, leaning her forehead onto her fingers. Rosette stared expectantly at her, waiting. Finally Kate sat up, fiddling with a pen.

"Chrono D'Crusa. The sixteen-year-old brother of Aion Castov and the guardian of Aion's children. Being only a minor himself, it's a miracle child services hasn't dropped him into some foster home, or maybe he would be better off if they did. He was doing alright though, surviving. His parents gave him that house when they estranged him, since that meant they'd have a place to send Aion's children as they came along, as, by that point, they knew they would.

"Why don't we, the mother's look after them? Because the Castov's won't have it. We can raise them for so long, until we're caught, but we're actually supposed to turn the child over on birth. Most of us hide, but they always find us. Those kids are the families heirs, you know. While Chrono might be estranged, if and when Aion is married, he wants to take the kids back, already older, and claim he was taking them off his womanizing brother, or that his brother kidnapped them."

"But isn't at least half of that illegal!" Rosette asked, her head spinning. It was so confusing! Kate put down the pen.

"The Castov's are very influential, and they aren't above blackmail, murder, or any of it. Aion is a perfect example of what they're really like. So long as he can push his kids onto Chrono, he will, all the while keeping his own reputation spotless and making Chrono the essence of shame."

"But why don't the mothers stop them! Stop Aion! Spread the word! Chrono can't keep it up forever!" Rosette cried, jumping up. This was so stupid! Kate shuffled some papers on the desk and adjusted her glasses.

"I know he can't." she said, her voice pained. "I know he's given up his dreams, most of his time and now even his ability to go to school just to care for those kids, but I can't do anything, none of the mother's can. If we do...well, Aion isn't above murder, although he'd do it so he wasn't caught." Kate tapped the papers on her desk, then lifted her head to meet Rosette's flashing eyes. "If I were to step in, even so much as offering money, Aion would know, and he would either kill me, or he would kill Nina. I don't know which, but I will not risk my daughter's life, even if she won't know I exist."

"But Aion doesn't have to know! There has to be a way!" the blond haired girl dropped back into the chair, slapping the wooden arms in frustration.

"Mr. Remington has applied to adopt the children from Chrono, seeing as Aion has filled him in as the father."

"And unfortunately, that method won't work either." Both women looked up as Mr. Remington staggered in.

"Ewan!" Kate looked shocked at her fellow teachers appearance, which wasn't surprising since the usually impeccably dressed professor was looking rather ragged, with his shirt half buttoned, his pants grass stained, his shoes covered in mud and his hair sticking up in tufts and fits. Groaning, he slumped into the remaining chair.

"Remind me not to take a cut through the park when chasing after Chrono. Have you spoken with him this morning?" he asked Kate. She nodded grimly. Remington sighed. "So he's leaving the school." Resting his chin on his hand, Remington stared at the pictures lining the wall. "The adoption papers won't go through. It appears the Castov's already thought of that. It won't work. It would seem Chrono's stuck with the kids until he-" the teacher stopped, glancing at Rosette, his eyes masked but questioning.

"Until he dies, is that it?" she said heavily, not really up for the reminder that her friend only had a short while to remain with them, thanks to his demon soul. Kate raised an eyebrow.

"He told you? I'm still surprised you know about his relationship with his family." Rosette shrugged, trying to hide the slip of pride that crept free at the fact that she was one of the few people Chrono confided in.

"We're friends, of course he told me!" she tried to sound proud, but it was hard. Remington smiled, but the look quickly turned grim.

"We'll have to figure out what to do next. If this continues, Chrono will go on being Aion's child dump, and I'm not entirely willing to let Aion force him into that fate. He's got too much talent to throw away before it has a chance."

"Why're we buying this stuff? It's old!" Kye grumbled as Chrono handed him a pair of worn jeans.

"Try those on. Look, I'm doing my best, but there are three of you and I'm-" he stopped himself. He wouldn't let them think they were a burden, they weren't, not really, and there were ways to solve everything.

Kye muttered under his breath as Tawny raced up, her arms full of clothes.

"Uncle Chrono! Look at these! They're a great deal, and look at this shirt! This skirts in great shape too! Do you realize what a steal this top is!" Tawny's mother, Chrono had learned, had taught the girl the finer points of thrift store shopping, and he was glad of it, especially seeing as he still had Kye to handle. Tawny was practical too, looking for clothes she could wear and then pass on to Nina when she out grew them.

"I still think it's gross, wearing clothes other people have worn." Kye glared at the rack of clothes in front of him.

"Aw, it's not so bad Kye! Here, this'll look great on you!" he swore as Tawny pushed a dark blue shirt at him, an enthusiastic grin on her face. Leaving Tawny to butt heads with Kye, Chrono squeezed between the racks, making his way to where Ben was sitting, his nose stuck in a book.

"What've you got there, Ben?" the child jumped, dropping the book.

"I um- I was reading!" Ben gulped, blushing, his face matching his hair. Chrono stooped and plucked up the tattered book, his eyes flitting over the title.

"You like animals?" he asked, shifting his armload of clothes so he could see better. Ben nodded, then scooted off to where Tawny and Kye were arguing. Chrono studied the book the boy left behind, then added it onto the stack of clothes. Well, if the kid liked reading, it wouldn't hurt. He didn't have that many books on animals anyway. He found the kids and went through the checkout, gulping as he saw the price. It was okay, he told himself. Just think if had all been new. He tried not to let his head spin with that one and split the clothing into four bags, filling them according to the size of the carrier before they headed out, walking along the busy street towards the hotel.

"See that big building there?" Chrono pointed out the glass sided building with it's concrete addition.

"It's ugly." Tawny noted, tipping her head, trying to make it look better. Chrono laughed.

"Ah, not as ugly as the Atlantic Place." he said, smiling. "I'll show it to you next time we're downtown. Anyway, use that hotel as a landmark." they paused in the shade for a moment, leaning against the concrete retaining wall for a bed of fall-withered flowers.

"So where do we go after this?" Tawny asked, still studying the hotel. "Oh wait! I remember! We turn up here," she pointed to the street that ran up beside the building. "We came down this one, under the over pass, so when we go up here, we take the left fork, then just keep going up!" Chrono nodded.

"You got it. You lead then." Ben grinned and clapped, Kye just scowled and muttered 'show off'. When they reached home, Chrono stopped them and pointed out Mr. Remington's house.

"That's Mr. Remington's. He's one- I mean, he was one of my teachers, and you'll go to his house after school."

"You mean, like a baby sitter!" Kye kicked a rock, then he kicked at the ornamental fence separating the two houses. "Aw come on! I'm too old for that." Chrono opened the door and held it for Tawny and Ben, balancing the bag of clothes at his side and looking expectantly at Kye.

"Coming?" Kye just glowered at him and stood still. Chrono sighed and put his bag inside the door before plunking himself down on the railing to watch his nephew, or more specifically, his nephew's aura. Chrono smiled as he got a picture of a black haired businessman, wearing an expensive suit, trying to carry a screaming child, which took the opportunity to throw up all over the nice black silk. Chrono chuckled.

"What's so funny!" Kye snarled, his eyes flashing. Chrono leaned on a post that supported the porch, stretching out his legs and crossing them, noticing with a sigh that once again, the pants were too short, coming well above his ankles. Ah well. Clothes could wait. "Well!" Kye was standing with his feet spread, his hands clenched. It would've looked imposing if he wasn't as short as he was, and if he wasn't standing on a very steep hill.

"Nothing's funny, if you want to be serious all the time. I'm just curious as to why you think I'm just going to stick you at Mr. Remington's and leave you." Kye flushed bright red and folded his arms over his chest.

"Don't be stupid, Stupid! I don't care where I am. I don't need you, anybody or anything." His stomach growled loudly, nearly drowning out the last bit. Chrono grinned.

"Not even lunch?" he hopped up and went to the door, Kye following slowly, muttering about stupid people, namely one's who wore their hair long and purple.

"Uncle Chrono! Uncle Chrono!" Chrono stopped inside the door, hearing Ben's shouts from the basement. "Uncle Chrono!" He frowned, a smell of something sweet and spicy imbued in the air, filling his senses, washing over him. It was like incense, he noted as the almost sticky air slid into his throat, filled up his lungs, spread into him.

He couldn't breath. With a gasp Chrono shoved past Kye and threw the door open, kicking the doorstop into place.

"Kye! Open the window in the kitchen!" he hollered, coughing as he ran to the basement and stumbled down the steps, head reeling.

"Uncle Chrono! Something's wrong with Tawny-" Ben stuck his head out from the sitting room, seemingly as unaffected by the smell as Kye.

"Open any window you can reach, Ben!" Chrono threw open the window in Marie's room before gabbing Tawny and darting out the basement door. Setting the gasping girl on the tiled patio under the trees, he went back and tied the door back with a piece of rope. Finally, he slumped against the wall, wheezing.

"Hey! What was that all about?" Kye yelled from the porch above before the wooden steps vibrated with his steps as he scrambled down them.

"I think Tawny's ok!" Ben called from under the trees as Kye walked Chrono over, the black haired boy's eyes flitting from his uncle to his sister.

"Thanks you two. Watch her for a moment, I've got to find out where that came from." It was a kind of gas, that was all he could figure as he circled the perimeter of the house. It was a gas designed for people who were sensitive to the other plane, psychics, which explained why it had only affected Tawny and himself. He kept a hand on the wall to steady himself, still wheezing as his lungs cleared out. The stuff was effective, if anything. Had it been at night, he would've suffocated. He would've, Nina would've, Tawny would've, Marie would've. And Rosette, he added gloomily. Rosette would've too, thanks to his stupid effect!

Chrono frowned, coming to the small window by his room. There was a small bottle by the filthy glass; black in colour with a small metal stopper on the ground beside it. Chrono knelt down, his throat clogging up as the smell grew stronger. Covering his nose and mouth, he grabbed the lid and clamped it on, screwing it in as tight as he could. Mercifully, the smell disappeared, as if stopping the bottle had turned it off. Chrono scanned the brown- grassed area below the window, his skin pricking with unease. Who had put it there? His eyes landed on the window. It was odd. He hadn't left the window open that morning...he never opened that window! It was always stuck shut! Squinting, Chrono leaned closer to the wall as a small mark caught his eye. Unfortunately, he had worn glasses for a reason. He'd stopped because they'd been broken on a bad night at the bar, and he couldn't afford to replace them. Still, if he leaned close, he could make out the tiny runes written around the open window. They looked familiar, yet he couldn't make any meaning of them. Of course, it would help if they weren't so fuzzy. Sassafras'n' eyesight!

"Find anything?" Kye asked, strolling around from the back. "Tawny woke up. She seems fine." he couched next to reaching over to touch the runes. "What're these?"

"I don't know." Chrono touched another one then whipped his hand back as the mark burned his skin. When he looked, the rune had burned itself onto his palm. Kye gasped, his eyes huge.

"The hell was that!" Chrono chewed his lip, circling the burn with his finger. He gasped and bent his head, trying to see through the tiny window and wishing suddenly that he'd thought to clean it, or at least cut the grass back!

"Stay with the others." He warned, jumping shakily to his feet. "I'm going to check something inside." Before Kye could argue, Chrono staggered back to the basement and opened the door to his room, shielding his face as what felt like a miniature sand storm of black dust hit him, covering him, choking him. The little grains sizzled, scraping across his skin like hundreds of tiny insects, all over. Crying out, Chrono ducted to his knees, his stomach churning.

There was power here, of some sort. Enough to make him dizzy, enough to force him down, enough to kill him if he didn't do something! The black sand was filling up the floor around him, he'd smother!

_That's enough. _Chrono blinked, hearing the familiar voice. _You won't die. It's an illusion, one designed for you, to weaken you. You've got a demon soul. Take advantage of it. Use it._ An illusion? Chrono forced himself to look, stretching out to try and see beyond the dust.

There! In the centre of the room, there was a bottle, black like the first, but with a label this time. Pushing himself to his feet, he slogged his way through the sands, which kept filling the room, despite him knowing it wasn't real.

The area around the bottle was free of sand though, a circle about a meter across, marked out by a ring of black candles, all releasing the same dizzying scent as the first bottle. Steadying himself against the nausea that strived to control him, he grabbed to bottle and clamped the cork into it. Just as with the smell, the dust promptly stopped, and he dropped hard to the floor, gulping for breath as he pinched out each of the candles and let his eyes adjust, shivering at the prickles that were still running up and down his back, a sign that was saying 'Something's not right. It's wrong!' very insistently.

"Hey!" someone was tapping on the window. "Uncle Chrono! You alright in there?" Kye's voice slipped under the thick glass.

"Yeah, fine!" Chrono answered, flicking on the light. Then he gasped.

Little black runes coated the floor, the walls and even the ceiling. The runes were in lines, coming out from the centre point of the room, where the bottle had stood. The only area that didn't have any was the area surrounded by candles. Why that scared him so much, he didn't know, but it did. Every character scrawled across the floor sent a fresh wave of tremors through him. Trying to shake off the ice that had settled in his chest, he looked at the bottle, hoping for a distraction. Unfortunately for his peace of mind, the only thing on the label was another set of runes.


	30. More Questions

A/N: Hello, and welcome to CHAPTER THIRTY of NTNP, and I'm your host, Sneko-chan. In this all-new chapter, we follow the latest adventures of our favourite heroes from the amazing CHRONO CRUSADE, which is not, by the way, by me. I just wrote New Time, New Place, and I hope you excuse this ridicules opening authors note and just enjoy the story's latest chapter!

Hugs and good reading (I hope)

_Sneko-chan_

A/N (2): Wow that was stupid! -

Disclaimer: I said I didn't own it in A/N #1. If things in life could change by writing a few lines, we'd be in a huge mess...but it's nice to dream.

Chapter 30

_Grey's wings quivered with frustration as he paced across the silken clouds, his bare feet making 'puff, 'puff', puff' sounds. _

_"Aug!" he yelled, to the empty blue expanse that confined him, feeling even worse as the sound came out small and quiet, absorbed by the air._

_He wanted to make noise, he wanted to get mad, he wanted to scream._

_He was an angel! He reminded himself, trying to force the anger from his mind, for he didn't have a body. No angel did. They were astral beings; they couldn't do anything on earth, not really. They could only set things up slightly, making people be born in the right place, asking fate to have them meet._

_But they couldn't control fate, and very few could control time. In fact, time, which so often caused pain, was often controlled by demons. _

_Like Chrono. But demons had been forbidden to have such powers, and angels weren't allowed to meddle on earth…_

_Without permission. There were angels that were strong enough to go to earth without having to be born as a human, one's strong enough not have their 'purity' tainted. They could go to earth and drop hints, even protect people, send them in the right direction._

_An angel like him. He'd done it before, but..._

_Never without permission. It was always on missions for Superior, and he always obeyed him. Always. Gray bit his lip, remembering all the nights, feeling the twisting in his gut that he got just thinking of his master. _

_He wouldn't disobey Superior, he couldn't. If he did, he'd be cast out of heaven, have his wings clipped, for Superior was The High One's second in command. No, he had to let things on earth play out as they did._

_Against his better intentions, his eyes slid to a cloud far below, where a pair of gold wings stuck out from the edge of a cloud. Gray winched._

_She would still be watching. She would always be watching, her beautiful face tense with worry because she could do nothing to protect Them, the forms of the bridge, a demon called the sinner and human with a pure soul._

_Gray sat down on a cloud, leaning over to watch the planet spinning below him. Why had those two been chosen, anyway? He didn't understand a word of the plan when Superior explained it. He would have thought their opposite charges would destroy them both, so long as Chrono had the soul of a demon._

_"What can't you just give him a human soul!" Golden had asked him, so many times, cutting into his heart, slaying him, for he couldn't._

_No._

_That was a lie._

_He wouldn't. To do so would be to try to thwart his master's plans._

_As Chrono had done. Gray sighed. He did remember that much, from long ago. Chrono had turned on his own brother, Aion, in his last life, but that hadn't been the first time. In every life he betrayed his master so he could protect someone who needed safety, someone who was in danger. He couldn't stand by and let people around him get hurt, his soul was too kind for that. _

_A kind soul. If he had an eternal soul, he should've been sent strait to heaven._

_But he wouldn't. Chrono had had his chance, before, before his first betrayal, before he was a demon._

_Before he betrayed his angelic master to help a human. _

"What kind of dance is that? It looks more like they're fighting."

"Ha..hAha! My stomach hurts!"

"Rrrr!" Rosette tried not to smile as she stomped at Brad's feet.

"Ow! Ow, Hey! You aren't actually supposed to actually- ow!" Brad yelped as she hit home. Rosette tried to look innocent; although she had a feeling Chrono could do it better.

"Sorry!" she said, dodging his flying feet easily. Those dance lessons she'd had as a little girl seemed to have come in handy, not that she liked dancing.

"Ms. Christov. If you would refrain from taking the feet off your partner, he might be able to chase after you in the next scene, like he's supposed to." Aion said mildly, arching a pale eyebrow. Rosette froze, just in time for one of Brad's shoes to crash down on her foot.

"Why you!" Rosette screeched.

Wham.

"Detention, Ms. Christov, at lunch time. There was nothing like that written in this section of the play. Now if you'll continue with the dance scene..?" Rosette rolled her eyes and took up position -yet again- with Brad.

"You seem in a bad mood today." Brad noted, nearly having his feet crushed again.

"Hardly." Rosette sniffed, concentrating on placing her feet on top of his.

"Yow! Geez, you're really taking this scene to heart!"

"Brad! If you would stay in character!"

"Sorry sir!" Brad scowled at her. "So what's with you? You seem upset."

"None of your business!" Rosette snapped; feeling mildly disappointed when they got to the part where they actually did get the dance right. No foot stomping here. Pity. Rosette let her eyes drift to the back of the stage, where the sound and lighting equipment was stored.

Chrono. He'd told his teachers he wouldn't be returning, that he'd be finishing his courses online.

This royally sucked. She aimed a glare at Aion, but as usual, he didn't seem to notice, just smiling lightly back. Ooh! She couldn't wait for this day to be done! Even the prospect of her shift at the Roll Cafe today seemed better then this!

"Uncle Chrono?" Ben knocked on the window, his voice sounding muffled.

"Lay off stupid! He's fine!" Kye snapped, but Chrono ignored their bickering, tracing the circle of runes on the bottle's label, staring at the black marks that coated the room. Shivering, Chrono took another step into the circle, trying to shake off the chill that had claimed his skin.

He'd seen these before, long ago, such runes. Not in this design, but in similar ones. Chrono touched one of the runes; winching as like the first, it burned him.

"Who...?" He squinted at a rune, drawing it in the air, trying to remember. Pain whistled through his head, but he ignored it, ignored the pressure building, rising between his eyes. What did it mean? If it didn't mean anything, why did it scare him! Gritting his teeth, Chrono drew the rune in the air again.

Demon. Chrono sucked in a breath as the fire in his head burned down to his shoulders. The rune meant demon. Opening his eyes, Chrono turned to the next mark.

Angel.

Human.

Hell.

Summon. Thourally puzzled, he ran his fingers through his hair. It was like reading and there were too many big words. You could pick out one or two, but the rest made no sense at all. He had no idea what the pattern was referring to, because something about the layout told him he'd need to read all of it to get the right meaning. One word wrong changed everything.

"What happened in here?" he looked up at Kye's voice, yelping in surprise as the boy came in, studying the wall curiously. "Wow! I've never seen these runes outside of books!" the boy ran to the wall and ran his fingers over the marks. Apparently, they didn't burn him. "And these! Why on Earth would these be mixed in! Man, mum'd give her archaeology degree for this!" Kye spotted the bottle. "Where was that? In the centre? Oh wow! A summoning spell then! I didn't know you knew magic! But this is amazing, all these different runes-"

"I didn't do it." Chrono blurted, trying to get a word in edgewise. "I don't know runes, or at least..."

"You don't now! Oh! Mom'd love all this!" The boy's face fell, and he laughed ruefully, trying to hide it. It didn't really work, because Chrono had seen it in the kid's aura, which was caught between excitement and sorrow. Chrono swallowed. He was treading in a different territory when he had to deal with the kid's mothers. Still feeling somewhat woozy, he went to where Kye was staring at a tiny symbol.

"Do you know what it means?" he asked, keeping his voice low. Kye merely shook his dark head, not raising it.

"Mum was trying to solve a bunch of them, but it's anyone's guess, really. They seem to be a mix between different types."

"Your mother was an archaeologist?" Chrono gently pulled his nephew from the room, shutting the door firmly behind him. Kye shrugged.

"A history prof. She used to be an archaeologist but..." Chrono's gut twisted as the thought drifted over. _Then she had to hide me._ Chrono patted Kye's shoulder.

"Do you miss her?" Kye stiffened, blushing.

"No! I'm old enough to look out for myself! I don't need anyone or anything!" The boy stomped outside, his aura so muddled Chrono couldn't decipher it, just as he couldn't decipher the runes. Rubbing his hands over his freezing arms, he joined the others outside, bringing them next door to where Mr. Remington had just gotten home, Nina, Kino and Marie in tow.

"Chrono." Remington looked up as the boy climbed over the wall after the new trio. The blond haired man's eyes wandered over the younger's face, searching. Chrono just looked away.

"You understand, don't you?" he said softly, pleadingly as he hugged each of the kids goodbye before he prepared to head to work. "I just can't do the hours." Remington nodded, but he didn't seem pleased, folding his arms across his chest, his eyes flashing a stormy grey.

"That's fine for now, but I don't intend to let you get away that easily." Chrono almost laughed. He did wave as he started down the hill. Get away that easily. He didn't want to get away. Sas'n'vin, he liked school, however weird that was. He liked it, because for a few hours a day, he could feel almost normal. Unfortunately, a few hours a day was not the amount of time he had to spare. He needed to make more money, and that's all there was to it, he told himself as he strode down over the cracked sidewalk. Besides, wasn't it said that you could learn all but math out of a book? And math wasn't that hard. If he went to the library a couple nights a week, he should be able to get the work done to pass grade ten, if he was still around then. Anyway, he couldn't worry about school; it was selfish to do so. He had work and the runes to think about.

Plip. Plip plop.

"What?" Chrono looked up as the sky dumped rain upon the city.

Of course he'd forgotten his sweater. Or a coat. Groaning at his own stupidity, Chrono raced down the hill and into Prologue, nearly knocking over a girl in the process.

"Sorry!" he said, trying to catch his breath as he helped her up.

"So, you're late for work here too, hey Chrono?" At the familiar voice he rubbed rain out of his eyes to make out the blurry figure of Terry Melvin, or Termel, as she like to be called. His co-worker at Austy's, Termel was a friendly girl, vibrant and very, very stubborn. He smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah." he said, heading into the store. "Don't get too wet!" She grinned back and waved, prancing out into the soggy afternoon.

Rosette fairly skipped around the Roll Cafe. She didn't much care for being a waitress, and she was horrible at cooking, but today, she was just happy to be out of school, so even washing tables wasn't too bad.

'Can I take your order?" she asked a dark haired woman sitting in a booth with a blond red haired guy.

"No, that's alright. Please step out of the way of the camera." she waved Rosette aside, smiling at the camera Rosette hadn't even noticed. Then the woman blinked, grabbing Rosette's arm.

"Rosette Christov!" Rizel Fogwell exclaimed, pulling her down into the seat. "This is rosette Christov!" she said enthusiastically to her interviewer. "She's got the leading female role in the play. Oh, you simply must tell us what you think of it!" Rosette gulped as the camera zoomed in on her. This wasn't what she was expecting. Not at all.

A/N: A very strange follow-up, I'm sorry. Well, I'll try to get some more up soon!


	31. Relationship Troubles

A/N: I should warn you, this chapter is probably about to suck, because at the moment I have writers block...no, that's not true. The problem is, I have another fan fiction story to write, called Puppy Love, and I really want to write it...but I'm writing this. Aw crash and burn. Still, I intend to finish this before I start the next story, so I guess I'll have to be patient so you guys won't be impatient!

Disclaimer: Yup. I don't own the most wonderful manga in existence, but I can live with that.

_Superior narrowed his eyes, watching. Curse fate, thwarting his plan! Curse the girl! Ah well. She would pay. Soon. She would pay for stealing him away._

"I...what?" Rosette pulled from Rizel's grasp, puzzled. She wanted her to talk about the play? "What do you want to know?" she asked. The interviewer raised an eyebrow.

"Come now!" he waved his arm at the camera. "It's just for the news. We're doing a piece on Aion Castov and his work. This play being his latest project..." A piece on Aion Cast...her heart gave a kick. This was for national television and...Oh!

"The play's alright. Personally, I don't agree with the choice for the main lead male, because he can't sing, but other then that, the plays fine. What you'd expect for a school operation." The interviewer adjusted his glasses, looking expectantly at her.

"Ms. Christov, you don't seem to enthusiastic. What do you think of your director? Surely that adds a plus the 'whole operation' as you say." Rosette scowled, glancing out the rain fogged window to the lights of the bookstore across the street. Rosette planted her hands firmly on the table and glared at the interviewer. Simon Remora, by his card.

"Aion is a-"

"Rosette!" The blond girl nearly swore as her boss, Leanne, waved to her. "Rosette! Come over will you!"

"Oh well," Rizel interjected, fluttering her eyes at the camera. "We all know what Miss Christov will say! After all- what girl wouldn't agree that Aion it the most handsome man on the planet!"

I wouldn't. Rosette thought viciously. Not by a long stretch. Even without knowing what he was like- what with dumping his kids on Chrono- his looks weren't so fine either! His skin had that false tanned look of spending hours in that tanning salon. His eyes were much too cold a colour and his hair too light!

"Leanne! I was in the middle of-" Leanne waved cheerfully and ducted into the kitchen, leaving her with a not pale haired, fake tanned, or cold colour eyed Chrono. No, he looked normal, although his hair had gone curled at the tips from getting wet and drying. Rosette had to smile at that, for the slight twists of purple made him look boyish and innocent. Very cute.

"Wha-what are you doing here?" Rosette shook herself, trying to concentrate, for looking at him had told her something else was up. He was upset. He took her arm and led her towards the backdoor. "Chrono? But I have work!"

"And we need to talk. Now. Leanne said it was fine." Chrono shut the door, rubbing his temple as he leaned against it, turning his face up to the drizzle. Rosette crossed her arms, glaring at him as he said nothing, just stood there, in the rain, getting both of them soaked.

"Do you intend to stand out here all night? I have work to do, and I for one hate it when my hair goes curly from moisture!" Chrono frowned, his hand lifting as if he wanted to touch her hair. He fiddled with his braid instead. Wham! Oh, it was almost funny watching him cringe from her. It almost made her take pity.

"Will you spit it out!" Rosette snapped, hitting him over the head a second time. "Is this supposed to be revenge for all the time's I kept you out in the rain? Well, tough!" she screeched, going into a third blow.

He caught her wrist. Rosette froze, staring at the long fingered, white knuckled hand wrapped around her arm in surprise. Chrono never tried to stop her hitting him! He'd always taken although it was easier when he was shorter- damn! She was thinking about the play again! "Wh-what?"

"What indeed." the tone of his voice made everything disappear, the rain, the garbage, the restaurant with impending work.

Everything but him and the ice in his low voice. Shivering, Rosette raised her head, meeting his eyes, half expecting to see someone else.

Nope. It was Chrono. Or, he looked like Chrono. Chrono's twin maybe? His eyes burned her, and she could feel him breathing hard. Then he released her arm, letting her stumble back.

"What were you planning to say about Aion." Chrono's hands had clenched at his sides as he spoke, his icy voice in contrast to his eyes. Rosette stepped further away, heart pounding.

"I-I was going to-"

"Tell the truth?" he spat out, towering in a way she'd never thought he was capable of, except in his true form- darn it! She nodded meekly, before realizing what she was doing.

"The Hell's your problem!" she yelled, straitening so she could meet his flaring eyes with her own. "I was trying to do you a favour! If the world knows about Aion, he can't dump his kids on you-"

"And what happens then!" Chrono snarled, startling her again. "Well? Then what? I send all the kids off to live happily with their parents? I trundle off home? Well? Do you think Aion's just going to let that go? He'd label you as an idiot, or do something worse! He'd say you made it up; you'd lose your credibility! He'd do anything so he doesn't lose his reputation! Rosette, he has access to you every day at school! The school boards under his little finger! He's got enough money to hire anybody he wants, he can press charges, Rosette-" Chrono slumped, covering his face with his hands. "My brother is a mad man. He wouldn't be above hurting you." Rosette felt like someone had frozen her to the filthy, chip bag, broken bottle covered ground, leaving her to gape at her friend. Chrono studied a very interesting garbage can a few feet away, and he seemed to have decided his lower lip tasted good.

Did it? Rosette wondered, but she shook the thought off.

"How did you know they were interviewing me anyway? I didn't even see you come over!" Rosette tried to put annoyance into her voice, but what he'd said made sense, in a stomach turning way. Aion was a madman, and they could do nothing against him. Well, that wasn't entirely true.

"Why don't you just refuse to take in his kids?" She asked, stepping closer. Chrono sighed, wiping moisture from his face.

"Because. If I don't, and Aion doesn't, and the mothers aren't allowed, then who looks after them? My parents say that all of the kids were sired by me, never mind the fact that I'd've had to be what? Six? When Marie was born. No, I have to, in their minds, and I won't put innocent children at risk, although..." Rosette studied the red and gold eyes. Something else was bothering him, but he shook his head and smiled.

"Ah well, I'm sure it'll be fine. Don't worry, Rosette!" he opened the door, his smile pasted back in place.

"I can tell you're faking, stupid." She snapped as she whacked him over the head on the way by. "And it annoys the heck out of me." Chrono blinked, his look of surprise making him look much younger then his drawn and dark-eyed face usually did. Rosette's heart pounded, just a tiny bit harder, although that was surely because the Roll Cafe had gotten busy in the time she'd been talking with Chrono, and the thought of cooking all those meals when her stomach was flopping about made her sick. That was the reason she was so light headed, not because he'd stepped closer, though she could feel his warmth, even over the space between them. He caught her arm, lightly, hesitantly, as if afraid.

"I know the situation isn't great, but I have to find a way to make sure the kids are alright, and I will. I..."

"It's not the kids you need to worry about, you idiot!" Rosette pulled her arm away, winching as the tiny hurt look shot and fled over his face. Damn. Another mistake! "Look-"

"Then don't you do anything rash." Chrono's face had turned pink, but his eyes were dark and hard. Rosette rolled her eyes.

"Fine dad!" Chrono paled, swallowing. He really was over protective! He averted his face and pushed past her.

"Very well then. Have a good night." he waved to Leanne and strode from the restaurant, but his aura of worry hadn't faded in the least. Shivering, Rosette slipped in behind the cash register to check a woman and her kids through.

"You're so lucky Rosette!" Roxy, another waitress sighed. Older than Rosette by a couple years, Roxy was a boy magnet.

"Lucky?" Rosette echoed dubiously as she scrubbed a table clean. "Hardly. He's so irritating." Roxy laughed.

"But he really likes you! That's a plus! He was really worried about you, Rosette!" Rosette stopped, turning to Roxy.

"Worried yes, but not over me. He's an idiot!" The black haired woman stared at her for a moment before shaking her head and resuming sweeping.

"I'll tell him to look for a better fish next time. You obviously have no taste men, if you can't appreciate a delicacy like him! I mean, it's hardly ever you find guys as sweet as Chrono D'Crusa!"

"You know him?" Rosette asked, swiping her bangs back. Roxy laughed.

"He's a wonderful singer. He works at a bar I go too, that's where I met him. Anyway, I'll tell him to find a different girl to chase." The woman grinned. "Maybe I'll ask him out myself. Ya never know!" The plates in Rosette's hands found their way to the shattered bliss of the floor surprisingly quickly.

"You'll do nothing-" she stopped herself mid-screech as she started to pick up the broken glass. "I- he's not dating anyway. Says he's got no time for it." Roxy shrugged.

"Hm. Well, he's not really my type. You should snag him while you still can. Oh!" Rosette looked up as the door opened.

"Aw c'mon man. Ya can't help it if the girl's got bad taste in guys."

"Yeah, I know but-"

"Um...Rosette? Can you cover my tables? I uh-" Roxy waved and dove into the kitchen.

"Hey! Rosette!" Roy waved her over. "Wow, we're meeting everyone today!" He winched as Jacob slumped into an even gloomier pose. "Including Az and Brad", he added to Rosette. "Oh, we ran into Chrono to, on his way home. What?" Roy groaned as Rosette stiffened. "Great." he grumbled. "You know, sometimes it helps to just get things in the open," he said helpfully. Rosette snorted.

"What is with all you people! There's nothing to get out in the open between Chrono and I. He's working and raising kids, and I have no want to be mixed up in all that. He's just my land lord and maybe friend, although right now..." She shoved a smile on her face. "So. What would you boys like?"

It was with great fortitude that Rosette was able to make her way through the rest of the evening. Since she was working late, she found out the Chrono had left her a dinner when he'd stopped by earlier, and it had been very, very difficult to eat it while fighting off Roxy's pointed looks. She had been grateful for it though, because, as usual, she'd forgotten to pack a supper.

"He sure knows you well." Roxy grinned.

"He's my land lord Roxy! More than that, he's raising six kids!" She snapped in exasperation. "I don't need that kind of trouble. I'm having enough problems in school as it is!" Needless to say, she was very happy to get home, sometime after seven. Exhausted, she scribbled down some very imaginative but likely incorrect answers to her homework and flopped on the bed, grateful for the rest. Against her will, the hurt look on Chrono's face when she'd pulled away slipped into her head. Okay, so maybe he wasn't so mean and stupid as she's said he was. Rosette rolled her eyes. Duh. He was far from that. He was just being Chrono. She'd apologise later.

It was later, much later, when she heard the front door open, signalling that Chrono had returned. Her grogginess disappearing, Rosette leapt from bed- and tripped gracefully over her shoes, which, as usual, in the middle of the floor. "Sassafras!" she swore, giggling as she did. Yeah, Chrono was rubbing off on her. Smothering the giggles, Rosette snuck to the stairs. She'd apologies for being so mean today, for shrugging off his warnings.

"Yes its fine." Rosette froze, hearing Chrono's voice.

"Chrono? Oh? What's going on? Who's this?" The tone of Shader's greeting cut her breath off. Slowly, she slipped down over the steps, half afraid. Liking her dry lips, Rosette poked her head around the corner, smothering a gasp.

Chrono was standing with his arm around a girl, and his hand in a...an interesting place, for a guy, that is. The girl was pressed against him, and looked like she didn't mind that in the least! Rosette swallowed, stumbling back. She couldn't hear what Chrono was saying, but one word did reach her.

Girlfriend. Suppressing the odd sound that seemed determined to rush from her mouth, as well as the porcupines that had taken residence behind her eyes, Rosette tore up the stairs and slammed her door, not caring who heard.

a/n: Well, that's chapter 31. I may not be able to update for awhile, because school starts in seven days, and the last five are my vacation. Sorry. I may not get an update up before then, but I will try!


	32. Termel

A/N: Hi. I have no idea when I'll post this chapter, but I can't get my internet connection to work, so, I need to do something and not waste time. It's a major pain though. Ah well. I haven't (at the time of this note) even been able to go onto and see if anybody updated! (Sob) I'm sorry. Due to technical difficulties, and preparations for the first day of high school, I haven't had much time to write. Moreover, I'm working on a short mini comic that's in colour, so it's taking a lot more time than I thought...

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade, and I might not even be able to write this story at this rate!

_Golden groaned, hitting her forehead off a cloud. It was a pity clouds were soft, she thought furiously. Then again, if they weren't, every angel here would have permanent brain damage from hitting their heads off them in frustration! I can't do anything!_

The last thing Chrono had expected to find at work that night was a bawling Termel. He would've been shocked to find a crying Termel anywhere, but finding her crying at Austy's was a real surprise, and not a pleasant one.

"What's going on?" Chrono shrugged off his drizzle dampened jacket and hung it on the employees hook, shivering. The weather seemed to have been three weeks ahead of itself all year; so, in October, it felt like November. He'd have to buy the kids new coats and boots in a few days because he didn't have enough now.

"Chrono!" Austy came out of the back room. "Finally! Termel is having a little problem, but we can't find out what it is, so could you talk to her? We need to get this solved, and fast. It's a busy night tonight, and without staff, we'll never handle it!" Austy scrambled back to handle some customers, and left Chrono to go into the back room. Chrono hesitated, looking at the looming opening that was the cave of the lions...well, the back room.

"Termel?" he barely got one foot in the door when Termel lurched against him, sobbing.

"Chrono! Oh Chrono it was awful!" She wailed, pressing herself against his side. She continued blubbering until he put his hands on her shoulders and lightly pushed her into a chair, kneeling on the floor in front of her so they were at eye level.

"Termel, its ok, calm down!" his words did nothing to stop the crying redhead, leaving Chrono just as lost as to the reason as before. "Alright, you leave me no choice." he said, trying to sound stern. Bracing his shoulders, Chrono walked to the other side of the small room, trying to block out her howls and concentrate on opening. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, rainbow. Instantly he shuddered as the swell of emotions, thoughts, feelings rushed through him, washing him aside. It had never been this strong before! Chrono struggled to put a hand on the wall to steady himself, but he wasn't even sure where the wall was.

Get hold of yourself Chrono! He told himself crossly. Termel needs your help. Fighting to get control of what he was picking up, he staggered over to Termel and put his hand on her arm, ignoring her gasp.

_She walked into the narrow room, humming. She'd been paid and she had a date. She was finally free! _

_The sound of footsteps reached her._

_"Termel." the voice crooned, as arms wrapped around her from behind. "My sweet Termel." The bed scooped her up- _Chrono pulled himself free of his friend's thoughts very, very quickly. He did not need to see what followed that, but it was easy to guess where it went. He shivered, still wading through the static to hear his own thoughts. Her visitor. His stomach churned at the thought of the man who had gone to her, who she thought she loved.

Aion. Aion had tricked this girl, and so many, many others, and he, Chrono had done nothing to try to stop him.

"Hush Termel." he whispered, for she was still sobbing. Calming himself, Chrono forced all the other junk from his mind and thought of kittens, and sunsets, anything to try settle the girl. Eventually, she came and hugged him, allowing him to rock her like a small child until Austy returned.

"Better?" Their mild boss asked, twisting his moustache tighter and tighter. Termel nodded meekly, a sight that worried Chrono, for like Rosette, Termel was feisty.

"Termel, do you want to spend the night at my place? There isn't much room, but I can offer you a couch." Termel and Rosette would get along, or at least keep each other occupied until things calmed down, so he was relieved when she nodded.

"Yes, I would." She said, a faint smile returning to her face.

The second Chrono put his hand on the front door; he got a slight prickle of warning. This was a bad idea. Biting his lip, he glanced at Termel. He didn't want to put her in danger, but if there was a problem, he had to make sure the others were ok. Either way, he couldn't leave her alone, and he couldn't not go in, so, he'd have to take her in with him.

"Come on." he said gently, pushing his fear away as he spoke. Still open, there was too much information to even try to figure out what was going on inside.

"Don't worry," He said softly. "You should be safe here." he gave her a hug and stepped inside to meet Shader.

"Chrono, who's this?" Chrono winched at the woman's grin.

"Shader, you know who Termel is! She works at Austy's. She needs a place to crash tonight, and I offered her the couch. She's a friend of mine." Chrono glanced over to the staircase as a series of crashing footsteps pounded upstairs, followed by a banging door. Termel leapt against him.

"What the heck was that!" Shader adjusted her glasses, grinning as Chrono blushed.

"That was Rosette Christov." You've seen her-" he cringed at the smirk that crossed Termel's face.

"At Austy's. I remember. She passed out there once, and she walked you to work, and she sang." The girl's eyes flashed with glee. "Your girlfriend."

"No!" Chrono scrambled back, much to the laughter of Shader and Termel.

"No? Then why the pink face, mm?" Chrono groaned inwardly, trying not to let his thinning patience snap. His head was already pounding, but that was another story. That could wait.

Mistakes about his relationship with Rosette were another kettle of fish all together. Chrono sighed and pointed to the living room.

"The door there can close, and you can sleep in there." Termel's smirk grew too quickly for Chrono's tastes. "I am not dating Rosette." he said firmly. "Nor am I dating anyone else. I don't have the time, want or need to, right now." Shader shook her head.

"It's not about time, want or need. It's about love!" Termel nodded her agreement, bringing her small bag into the living room.

"You've been in love before, haven't you Chrono?" she called over her shoulder. Shader winched. Bad, bad timing on that one. Chrono took a gulp of air, the familiar blanket of guilt settling around him.

"Yes. I have." Stonily calm, he handed Shader her money and bid them goodnight before heading off to bed. A very hot shower was necessary. He decided. Then- he turned and looked back at the stairs. It was odd for Rosette to run away. Chrono leaned against the wall, frowning at the steps. Had she heard something? Thought they didn't want her around? Chrono nipped at his fingernail then stopped himself. It was a bad habit he'd picked up recently, he scolded himself. He had to stop that. Just as he had to stop worrying so much over Rosette. She didn't like it when he did, he thought ruefully, remembering the "Fine dad" jab.

Did she see him like a father? He paused, hovering on the basement steps. He couldn't think of her as a daughter, just some one he wanted to protect.

Was that such an awful thing? He shook his head, turning on the hot water. He shouldn't even be thinking like this at all! He had to solve the runes, or they could all be in trouble, including Rosette. If Rosette didn't want his protection -he ignored the automatic, 'I'll protect her anyway'. When had that started anyway? - then he would let her be. Usually. Chrono bent over, letting the hot water sizzle down his scarred back. It didn't hurt so much now, and he was pretty sure he'd escaped without too much lasting damage...his heart had sped up, once again remembering the bathroom incident. Heck, when didn't he?

"Urg!" muttering in distaste about his dirty mind, he stuck his head under the nozzle and scrubbed at his hair. It really was too long, but he couldn't bring himself to cut it. "Admit it Chrono!" He growled, swiping soap out of his eyes. Twisting the purple strands into a tight braid, Chrono stomped back to his room. After the rune incident, he'd refused to let the kids in, for fear or residual magic, or gas, or whatever the sassafras it was. Still, he had to find out what had happened in there, and he figured it he slept in there, his aura open, he'd pick up some of what happened. Scrubbing at his eyes, he stretched out, trying to feel all the possibilities. As he'd known they would, all the runes that had been in the room had vanished, but the acid scent of magic still remained, weaving its way into his brain, making him feel fuzzy, but maybe that was just the exhaustion and the stress. He was finding it hard to tell...

_He blinked, staring at the chains that bound his ankles, his wrists._

_"This is your fate, you fool." he turned his head, pain gouging its way though him. "You've always failed. You'll always betray." The voice was familiar, haunting, flooding his mind, overriding everything around him, from the red sky, to the screams, to the sharp, rocky ground beneath him. "You'll fail this time too, this last wild shot, then I will have you! You will cease to exist, my poor foolish pet!" Pet? He wasn't a pet! Not now. The name struck familiar though. He shut his eyes, but his mind was numb. Nothing was making any sense! Pet? He had a vague memory of a woman, a princess, who saved him from the streets under the pretence of him being her pet. He frowned, trying to remember. It felt like that was centuries ago._

_"It was." the voice sneered. "You failed her then, remember? And the time after, and after." He shuddered, coughing, wrinkling his nose as a copper of blood filled his mouth. Yes, he had failed. she died before he could get to her, and he'd been burned to death for working with the enemy, for he'd been a prince from a rivalling kingdom, not that he wanted to live without the girl._

_He whimpered, the weight of the voice crushing his fragile frame. A smirking face slid into his hazy thoughts, but he couldn't really make it out. "My poor little fool. When will you realize you' can't escape this web? You've always been trapped, for it's your own soft heart that led to that day. The day you betrayed me."_

Rosette threw her pillow across the room, she knocked the books off her night table and she kicked the bed before throwing herself down upon it and crying. He'd lied to her! The stinking little purple haired weasel had lied to her! 'No, I'm not dating, blah, blah, blah', and then he came home with..! Grinding her teeth, she rolled over. Stupid! She wouldn't be all worked up like this if he hadn't lied to her! She didn't care what he did, stupid, over-protective--#$#$$! Throwing off covers too twisted to provide warmth anyway; Rosette launched herself from the bed and hauled on some clothes and a sweater, checking to make sure her sneakers were dry before creeping downstairs. She ignored the flickering TV in the living room and stomped to the kitchen to grab a peach. She bit it, licking the juice from her fingers, staring at the closed door leading to the basement. The rat's burrow, she added with a smile. Well, he could do what he liked. If he had a girlfriend, then that was his business! Rosette shouldered her bag, swung her headphones in her ears and stormed from the house. She hated him! Stupid, stupid Chrono!

Rosette paused by the road, looking up at the sky. She couldn't see any stars, for the streetlights were too bright, but she could picture them, just like that night on signal hill, with Chrono. St. John's looked beautiful from up there.

"Signal hill." She could walk there. It would take awhile, but she could. There'd be no one there at this time of night, and Chrono had gone to bed, so he wouldn't come chasing after her, or go up there with his red-haired friend! She'd have the place to herself, and she could read her script in peace, if only to remind herself what was real and what was fake.

A/N: This took longer than normal because I had a few minor difficulties with the internet (arg) but I got it done at the speed I could. This may be the last update before I start school, but one never knows where life will take us, to either quick updates or slow ones!


	33. Spots

A/N: Hallo! I'm ba-ack! Well, on to chapter 33! Whoohoo!

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade. I love it dearly, but I don't own it. You can't own love, you know.

Chapter 33

Signal hill was a lot further to walk to than it was to drive, Rosette noted with some irritation. Well, all the better then, for the fire eating the back of her legs took her mind off Chrono and his stupid girlfriend! For a while anyway. Rosette paused suddenly, remembering.

Hadn't she told Chrono to get a girlfriend one of the times she was mad at him?

Had he listened to her then? If that was the case, she should be happy. Mulling that one over, Rosette resumed walking. He needed a girlfriend, she'd told him as much. Besides. She smiled. With him off her back, she could feel a bit more freedom. After all, she was supposed to be enjoying life as she would live without any help from parents, and Chrono certainly had a parental air about him. He really could be stuffy. And stuck up. And so, so stupid! Rosette took a shuddering breath as she crested the hill. Finally! She stumbled to the low wall, staring out at the city, spread gently over the hard body of the Newfoundland landscape, a warm, glowing blanket.

"Damn it!" Rosette turned at the voice. He couldn't have known she'd be here- oh. Yes, he could.

"Get lost Chrono! Go back with-"

"Rosette?" A shadow moved up beside her. "What the heck are you doing up here? Don't you have school tomorrow?" Rosette squinted.

"Jacob!" Carrying his skateboard, his hair trailing in his eyes, Jacob looked miserable. Still, he smiled.

"You and Chrono having lover's quarrels?" He leaned on the wall beside her, and aura of gloom still wrapped around him. She snorted.

"Lover's quarrel? We aren't dating stupid. He's managed to find himself a girlfriend though." Jacob raised an eyebrow.

"Chrono? You haven't seen any odd flying lights recently, have you? The Chrono I know swore he would never date."

"That's what I thought too." Rosette sighed, stiffening as she heard the odd tone in her voice. "Anyway, I guess I'm happy for him and all. I guess it's about time he found someone." It was Jacob's turn to snort.

"Yeah. Just like Azzy found her someone." he scowled, glaring out over the city.

"Aw Jake. She'll see through Brad soon enough." she patted his shoulder. "C'mon. Brad's a jerk. Az just can't see she's got a great guy, right under her nose. But she will. I'm sure."

"And I'm sure you've read too many of those cheesy romance novels that girls love so much."

"Hardly!" Rosette scoffed. "I'd not read such nonsense as that lot! No, what you need, Jakey is a distraction. One that will get Az's attention while you're at it." Rosette paced along the sidewalk, biting her thumbnail. "There's got to...I've got it!" She squealed, tossing her arm around Jacob's shoulders.

"Wha-"

"Date me."

"Uncle Chrono?" Chrono blinked, rubbing his eyes.

"Wh-huh?" He sat up and squinted, bringing Marie into focus. "Hey there kiddo. What's wrong?" Marie sniffled, scrubbing at her face.

"I don't feel so good." Frowning, Chrono flicked his braid over his shoulder and felt her forehead, winching.

"You've got a fever. Come on Mari Mari." He whispered, scooping her up with a grunt. "Sass, you're getting too big for this little lady!" She chuckled, but pressed against him, shivering, even as he tucked her into bed.

"Wha's goin' on?" Tawny mumbled, sitting up in her makeshift bed. Chrono put a finger to his lips, kissing Marie on the forehead before slipping to the door.

"It's ok. Go back to sleep." Tawny shrugged and rolled over, pulling the blankets over her head.

"G'Night."

She had broken out in spots. Chrono sighed, studying his niece in the sunlit kitchen.

"Aiii!" Kino and Tawny burst out of the basement. "Uncle Chrono, Nina's got spots!" Tawny cried, latching onto his arm.

"Nina?" Kino caught sight of Marie. "Aug! You too? Kye and Ben have 'em!"

"Am I going to turn into a giraffe?" Chrono looked up as Ben stumbled into the kitchen, clutching his animal book.

"A giraffe? Hm. I don't know." Chrono picked up the child, smiling. "Maybe a jaguar."

"No! I don't wanna be an animal!" Ben wailed.

"Don't be stupid!" Marie said, heaving her head up. "You've the same thing I've got, chicken pox. You won't turn into an animal." Ben stopped crying long enough to accept Chrono's nod of agreement and be set down on the nearest unoccupied kitchen chair.

"What's going on in here?" Termel poked her head in, her hair sticking up from the night sleeping on the couch. Chrono smiled wryly, gesturing at the two spotted children.

"A small epidemic." He said, trying to sound cheerful. Termel raised her eyebrows.

"Chicken pox? How lovely." Chrono nodded.

"Yes I-" _Termel ran into the kitchen, sniffing, flinging herself at him._

_"I-I'm pregnant!"_

"Earth to Chrono!" Tawny chuckled as Chrono snapped out of his daze.

"Ah- er, Termel." She smiled.

"Hey. I was also coming to tell you I'm going to stay with my sister in the states. I'm leaving today."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Take care of yourself." Chrono warned. At least she'd be away from this mess!

"Uwah! I'll miss you!" Termel tossed her arms around his shoulders and hugged him, kissing his cheek.

"Good morning." Chrono pulled away from Termel and met blue fire, or Rosette's eyes.

"Rosette. We have some spot trouble, as you can-" Rosette pushed past him and took an apple from the counter.

"Doesn't seem to be holding you back." she waved as she headed for the front door. "Later. I'm off. I'm going to be later meeting up with Jacob." The door clicked shut behind her.

"What's with Aunt Rosette?" Kino asked, frowning.

"Who's Jacob?" Marie wondered, pushing her bangs back. "Can you cut my hair? It's getting in my eyes again."

"What was that all-" Chrono took a small step towards the door but shook his head, smiling weakly as he returned his attention to the kids. "All righty then. It's Saturday, so there's no school today. Kye, Kino, Tawny; have either of you had the chicken pox?" Kino and Tawny shook their heads.

"I have." Kye shrugged. "It's no big deal." Chrono smiled.

"Usually it's not. Anyway, if you've had them, you'll be fine. As for you two," he pointed to Kino and Tawny. "you'll probably get to experience the joys of chicken pox first hand. You're lucky though. Once you have them, you can't get them again. I know you'll be horribly disappointed, but I'm afraid that means no school for a few days." Marie pouted, but Kye and Kino cheered. Chrono ruffled Kye's hair. "Sorry my friend. You've already had them, so you're home clear."

"Whaat?" Kye glowered at him, but Chrono just smiled.

"You'll have your hands full." Termel grinned. "Anyway, I've got to go pack." She skipped from the room, grabbing her bag and heading for the door. "See ya Chrono!" They all waved as she left, then Chrono turned to them.

"Ok. Marie and Ben, you're getting into bed. You three can help me out this morning." After seeing his two ailing charges to bed, he set about cracking eggs into a pan.

"Hey Chrono- er, Uncle Chrono." Kye said, washing the table. "What did Rosette mean-"

"I don't know." Chrono sighed, staring out the window. She'd said she was going to meet up with Jacob. Jacob...a friend of Az's. He remembered now. A nice guy, madly in love with Azmaria, if he remembered correctly. She'd be fine. Still, his stomach was twisting. Something wasn't quite right in all of this, but he wasn't sure what.

"You're chewing your lip again." He looked up to see Ms. Harvenhiet standing in the doorway. "You've started doing that in this lifetime. Ooh! You're so cute!" With a squeal of delight, she raced across the room and scooped Kye and Kino into a hug. "Your nephews are all so cute Chrono!"

"Heh heh..." Chrono glanced out the window, chopping up an apple. "Ouch!"

"Your thoughts aren't here. What's on your mind?" Ms. Harvenhiet asked, seating herself primly at the table. Chrono glanced at her.

"The lack of help aside from these poor guys. Hey!" he flicked soapsuds Kino as the boy tried to dump carrot peelings over his half-brother, who responded with a handful of peanut butter, which hit Tawny, who in turn threw an orange. "That's enou-" he caught the wayward orange before it went through the window and glared at the three siblings.

"Sorry Uncle Chrono." They chorused, hanging their heads and peering up at him with puppy eyes. Chrono sighed and pointing them into the basement, laden with breakfast for six. Laughing as the trio's argument continued down the basement stairs, Chrono raised his hands in defeat. Satella smiled.

"I'm starting to find it hard to picture you as big bad Chrono the Sinner." she smirked. Chrono snorted.

"Of course. That was another lifetime. Souls change." Ms. Harvenhiet nibbled at a slice of apple, eyeing him.

"I don't know. Rosette is as stubborn as ever, and you..." she fingered her lip. "You have changed, but not much. You're still stubborn in your own way. You're as determined as ever, but you have different goals now." Chrono winched. Goals were steps towards dreams.

"Goals change in life, as well as in lifetimes." he said softly, handing the woman a plate of toast. "So do hearts."

"I don't know about this Rosette."

"What's not to know?" Rosette leaned back in her chair, sipping her hot chocolate. Jacob set aside his third napkin person and started on a fourth, studying the smooth wooden floor of Food and Friends.

"I still don't understand this plan of yours. If I'm trying to get Azzy away from Brad," he gulped.

"Yes?" Rosette stirred her drink, watching the boy' face as it reddened.

"Then why am I dating you?"

She laughed, wiping her mouth on her sleeve and getting odd looks from some of the other customers. "Come on Jake! You're as bad as Chrono! Nearly as dense anyway. It's very simple really." Rosette bit into an oatcake. "Youw juwst hawve -mmf, excuse me! Sorry. You just have to show Azzy- Azmaria what she's missing. How cool you are. She's much too good for a jerk like Brad."

"And you're doing this because?" Rosette blinked in surprise at the question.

"Me?" Jacob nodded, tossing aside a half twisted napkin and resting his elbow on the table.

"Yes you. Why are you doing this? There are lots of other girls you could've set me up with! Your place is full of them."

"And they all have boyfriends or could be boyfriends. Nope, you need a girl who knows what to do in a situation like this, and you need someone who knows this isn't real."

"I still don't think-"

"Consider it acting." Her eyes flitted to the window then she leaned forward. "Do I have and cream on my face? From my hot chocolate?"

Jacob laughed. "Yes." He said, still chuckling.

Rosette frowned. "What's so funny?" he was laughing even harder now.

"It's on your nose!" he guffawed, reaching out with the least twisted napkin he could find and wiping the white cream from her face. "There. That's better."

"Thank you!" she said with a smile. "Hey!" she grabbed his hand and waved. "Hey guys!" Grinning triumphantly at Jacob, she towed him out onto the sidewalk, calling out to Az and Brad as she did.

A/N: Dumdumdum! Well. I guess the story has taken another trip to the ordinary...but is anything ever ordinary? Ordinary chaos is such fun to create!


	34. Follow Up

A/N: Here I am, writing again. Still, I'm enjoying myself, and I hope you are too!

Chapter 34

The nice thing about chicken pox was that you could only get them once. The bad thing was they could be very, very unpleasant when you had them, or so Chrono knew from his experience.

"It's so itchy!" Marie grumbled, her fingers twitching on the blankets. Chrono smiled weakly, handing her a sandwich.

"Like I said, don't scratch."

Marie rolled her eyes and bit into an apple. "Yeah, yeah, I know." She narrowed her eyes. "You took today off? Because of us?" she rolled over onto her stomach, studying him. He laughed, moving a small stone elephant on her night table.

"Yes. I'm your guardian, after all."

"You're worried." Nina said solemnly, sitting up in her cot and sending a stuffed rabbit to the floor.

"I'm your uncle, silly. Of course I'm worried. You are family, after all." Chrono picked up the rabbit and mussed the smaller girl's hair. Nina's eyes remained on him. She was reading his aura; it didn't take much to tell that.

"Just because someone's family, doesn't mean they worry." Ben noted softly. The red haired boy had taken up residence with the two girls in the basement living room. He turned his face away. "Dad didn't."

"Dad was a jerk, Ben. We all know that." Kye snapped as he strode into the room.

"Kye!" Tawny caught a glass that fell off the tray her brother was carrying. "Juice anyone?" She said with a smile. "Apple, orange or kiwi?"

"There's mango, passion fruit and" Kino studied the label. "Beer!"

"Hold up there!" Chrono chuckled, snagging the beer from his nephews grasp. "That's an adult drink!" He'd have to find out who did the shopping that week and tell them to refrain from putting the beverage where little fingers could get it. Ben let out a gasp as his blankets moved, dropping his glass and spewing orange juice all over the floor.

"Aug! A felis domesticus!" he yelped, a grin capturing his face as Final Claw, Marie's kitten, poked her head from under the blankets.

"You found her!" Marie cheered, for the tiny tabby had taken refuge from the traumatizing chaos of six kids. Chrono admired the little creature's resilience for coming out. "She must have been hiding!" Chrono let them debate over where the kitten had hidden while he cleaned up the orange juice and took the beer back up to the kitchen, where it belonged.

Five o'clock. She'd been gone for hours! Chrono turned away from the clock on the stove and roughly shoved the beer to the back of the fridge. As if he didn't see enough alcohol at work! Ah well, there wasn't much he could do, even if it was his house. They wouldn't listen, and they were supposed to be living their own lives anyway. He sighed, running a cloth over the kitchen counter, sending crumbs all over the floor.

"Jeez Chrono! You'd think you'd forgotten how to clean a counter!" He chided himself, tossing the sticky cloth in the sink and getting out the broom.

"Hi Chrono." Azmaria skipped into the kitchen, her long violet hair flicking out behind her. "Busy day?" Chrono shook his head, emptying the dustpan into the garbage.

"No. Just the usual."

"Oh. Too bad!" Az stuck her hands under the tap, letting the hot was slide over them. "I had a nice day. Brad took me to a movie, then we went downtown for a bit, to go to different cafes. Would you believe Brad has a sweet tooth? It was so cute!"

"Really." Chrono handed her a glass, which she filled with pomegranate juice.

"Yes! Would you have thought? And he always acts so tough." Azzy giggled, sipping her juice. "Oh! We ran into Jacob and Rosette over at Food and Friends- that place has the most gorgeous chocolates! Anyway, we bought a whole bunch of them and we all shared."

"Mmhmm." Chrono leaned on the counter, peeling apples for a fruit relish he was planning for dinner that night.

"We walked the waterfront after that, stopping into different shops. Brad bought me a bracelet, see?" she held out arm to show a silver chain with a little charm. "Over at Rosy-poo. Jacob bought Rosette a necklace; oh, you should see it on her, Chrono! It's so pretty, and it matches her eyes!" Chrono stiffened. Jacob had bought Rosette a necklace? Swallowing, he resumed peeling, trying to ignore the war being waged in his stomach. Sure. Why not? The two were friends, right? Friends could get gifts for each other. Anyway, he reminded himself; chopping the apple into small chunks. Even if the two were-

"You have to admit though," Az continued cheerily. "They make a cute couple. Like, oh it was so sweet! - before we met up with them, we were walking by Food and Friends, and I saw Rosette? Oh Chrono, it was so funny!" The girl burst into laughter again, dropping her glass in the sink. "Rosette- oh heehee-" she wiped her eyes "Rosette had -ha-ha- whipped cream on her nose!" Chrono's fingers tightened on the knife handle. "And then, Jacob- you gotta hear this, it was so cute!- he was laughing really hard, and I mean, really hard, then, like, he reached over with a napkin and dabbed at her nose! He looked so serious, and I was sure they were going to kiss!" Azmaria sighed, staring dreamily out the window. "Wouldn't that have been so sweet? Speaking of sweet, what are you going to do with all those apples?"

"Huh?" Chrono jumped, looking at the counter. Unfortunately, his effort was useless as the counter was buried under a very large pile of little apple bits. "Oh no!" Chrono glanced at the bowl of apples that usually sat on the counter, quickly trying to figure out how many apples had been in it before he'd emptied the contents onto his cutting board. Ten? Fifteen? Somewhere in that range. "Sassafras and vinegar!" He gulped. The relish only needed one apple, not however many he'd just cut up!

"Chrono? Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? N-no!" Chrono smiled, holding up a handful of apple. "I was just thinking. If you had all that chocolate today, you probably wouldn't want any of the desert I was planning on making. I mean, even though it's said teenagers can't get enough sugar-"

"Nonsense!" Satella clacked in, Viede at her heels. "One can never have too many desserts. And what's this I hear?" the woman turned on Az, putting her hands on her hips. "You and Rosette took your boyfriends down to Food and Friends and ate chocolate without us?" She lunged at Az who squealed and skittered away.

"I didn't know you wanted to! We weren't planning on it!" the smaller girl shrieked as Satella chased her upstairs.

"Well, I suppose the kids would like chocolate apple flips."

"You cut up too much?" Viede noted, dropping into a nearby chair and pulling out a copy of Romeo and Juliet. Chrono laughed.

"Yeah well, I wasn't paying attention while I was cutting. I'm lucky I didn't loose a finger. Oops." he looked down at his hand and did a quick count. Yup. Ten.

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. You were thinking about some_one_ else alright." Viede pulled off his jacket and put his feet up on the nearest chair, flicking him a knowing glance over his book.

"Of course." Chrono choked out, trying to convince his heart to stop running so fast before it stopped working all together. "Marie, Nina and Ben have chickenpox. Of course I'm distracted." He flipped through his recipes, glad he'd followed the hint Mrs. Hann had given him about writing them out on index cards and arranging them alphabetically, meaning all the apple recipes were close together, not that he planned on following it exactly. He pulled out the card for apple flips and tried to figure out if he should change the amount of brown sugar if he was adding chocolate.

"Your nieces and nephews?" Chrono didn't need to see the other teen's aura to know he wasn't convinced.

"Sure." Cinnamon...where had he put it? Ah ha! Feeling better now that he knew what he was doing, he separated a cup of apples for the relish and pulled out the required amount for the apple flips, humming. Viede snorted, leaving the kitchen and stomping upstairs. Well, that was ok. He could concentrate better if he wasn't talking about distractions. Now that he'd used up most of the ap- Chrono stared at the pile.

Had it been twenty apples? He sighed. You could solve anything with a little ingenuity, a bit of time, some helping hands...

And a lot of cinimon.

"That was fun." Rosette announced as she mounted the front porch with Jacob at her side. "We should do that again sometime." Jake nodded, holding back as she opened the door to release a wash of sweet, spicy smells. "Ooh!"

"Smells nice." Jake noted, his stomach growling. Rosette gave him a poke.

'You're going to get chubby at this rate, Jakeypoo. Still," she held open the door. "I'm sure Chrono won't mind an extra person." She winked. "And Azzy will be here." she added in a low voice.

"Thanks." Jacob said, his eyes lighting up. "Sounds great!" Grabbing his hand, Rosette towed him into the kitchen, jumping the chair set across the doorway.

"Hey-lo Chrono!" she sang, bouncing in.

"Rosette!" Jacob warned, but it was too late and the blue-eyed teen slipped on the freshly mopped floor.

Thump.

"Thanks Chrono!" Rosette squeaked as he caught her and set her on her feet.

"Watch you step next time." he said over his shoulder as he walked over to the counter, setting up cooling trays.

Jacob perched on a chair. "What's for dinner?"

"Apples!" Kino poked his head from beneath the table, holding up a slice of the fruit.

"More specifically," Tawny corrected, carrying a sweet smelling tray from the oven and putting it on the cooling rack. "Apple pie, chocolate dipped apple flips, apple tarts with cherries, apple relish and apple-nut bread."

"And cinnamon apple-nut biscuits." Kye said stiffly, narrowing his eyes at Jacob. "They're awful." He said around a mouthful of what was probably the food in question.

"There's tomato soup for the rest of the meal." Chrono handed Kino a cloth and started ladling soup into bowls, wiping his hands on his apron. "Will you call the others Rosette? Az is upstairs with Satella and Viede, and I'm not sure who else is here."

"Right." she walked to the base of the stairs. "Dinner!" Several loud squeals and thumps later, she was nearly trampled as the rest of the house's occupants raced down to the kitchen.

"Enjoy your meal." Chrono said from the basement door before carrying a tray of food down.

"What about the dishes?" Ms. Harvenhiet called after him. Rosette paused over her soup, eyes trained on the doorway as she heard Chrono sigh.

"I'll do them later; just pile them on the counter. And I want some of the tarts, pie and everything else left, thank you very much!" A door banged shut below them.

"Well." Ms. Harvenhiet huffed.

"Someone's grumpy. Pass the apple bread." Joshua stuffed a piece in his mouth, offering it to Jacob.

"He's a good cook." Jacob threw in. Rosette smiled at him for sticking up for the over run landlord, but his eyes were stuck on Az.

"I can understand him for being grumpy." Viede said, his deep voice catching everyone by surprise. "Apparently, some of his nieces and nephews have the chicken pox."

"Oh!" Azmaria squeaked. "Poor kids!"

"Mmf. I'd hate to be the one stuck looking after them." Joshua grunted, choking over a tart. "Wow. He did a good job with these though. Will you pass me another? "Rosette did so, taking one for herself as well, winching at the heat. "Anyway, chicken pox is one thing..." he rambled on about the time he was carsick.

"Smells good." Rosette noted, taking a bite with the intention of wolfing it down. Instead, she paused, her mouth full of cinnamon fire: sticky, sweet caramelized apple and a very warm fuzzy feeling that seemed to fit the atmosphere of the kitchen. "Mm." Quickly, she nabbed two more when the plate passed her a second time. Jacob gave her a poke.

"You're going to get chubby, _Roseypoo._"

"Oh stop!" Rosette laughed. Perfect. Calm as she could be, she planted a kiss on Jacob's cheek. The table's occupants went silent, except for the fork that slipped out of Azmaria's hand and Joshua's jaw hitting the table.

"P-pass the- the soup!" Ms. Harvenhiet floundered. Smiling smugly, Rosette handed her the pot, ignoring a sudden prickling across her neck. Ms. Harvenhiet accepted the pot, but her eyes remained on a spot behind her. Rosette turned, frowning at the basement door. Hadn't it been closed?

Chrono let the hot, soapy water cover his hands, allowing himself to feel each sizzling nerve ending. It was an interesting sensation, unpleasant at first, until you got used to the temperature of the water. It was great for taking your mind of things…like a blonde haired girls leaning over and- it's none of you business! He reminded himself (again).

"Kino you idiot! Tunldite isn't a word!"

"Is too!"

"No, it isn't," Tawny cut in. "but 'untitled' is."

Kino whooped, re-arranging his letters on the Scrabble board. "Ha-ha! Take that Kye!" Chrono shook his head, hiding a grin. No one could say they weren't competitive.

"Oh yeah? Try this on for size!" Kye snapped, a series of loud, very determined clacks shaking the kitchen table. Chrono was glad he'd convinced them to play up here, where they wouldn't wake the other three.

"I think it's time for bed you three." He warned, sliding the plates into the water and ignoring the cries for one more game. "Sorry. Come on, it's eight thirty. Pack up." Still groaning, the three children dutifully picked up their game and said good night before stomping down into the basement. Eight thirty. Chrono frowned at the clock. He had to leave soon, or he'd be late for work, but there was no sign of Shader. Setting the soup pot in the sink to soak, he grabbed the hand held and called Austy's home number. Where was she?

"C'mon Shader! Pick up! Sassafras!" Resisting the urge to toss the phone across the room, he settled for trying Shader's cell number, but still ended up with the same result. With a sigh, Chrono called Austy and told him he couldn't come in to work, the kids had chicken pox.

"Lots of calls to make?" Chrono looked up as he dropped the phone on the cradle, smiling wryly to Rosette.

"Lot's of trouble." He snatched up the sponge and struggled to get tomato soup scum off the pot. Hadn't it occurred to them to put water in the thing? Probably not.

"You're in a bad mood today."

"I'm surprised you noticed." Chrono winched. He was in a bad mood. Maybe it was for the best that he wasn't going to work, but that was no reason to take it out on Rosette. Taking a deep (hopefully calming) breath, he set the pot aside and turned to face her, making his shoulders relax as her dropped into a chair across the table from her. "So. How was your date with Jacob?"

"Who said it was a date? Oh. Here's the mail." she shoved the letters across the table.

"Azmaria was sure you too were getting married." Chrono said lightly, putting a hint of laughter in his voice.

"Really!" Rosette said eagerly. He frowned. "Well, we aren't." To his horror, she giggled in as very un-Rosette like way.

"Are you alright?" Had she had the chicken pox? Was she getting a fever? Heart pounding, he reached across the table and touched her cheek, trying to tell if there was a heat different from normal. She did seem a little bit warm. Searching for a way to break it to her, Chrono yelped, losing his balance and toppling over on top of her.

"Aug!" Rosette squealed as Chrono lost his balance and knocked them both to the floor. He twisted as they fell, so she ended up on top of him, pressing him to the tile floor.

"Sorry!" he sputtered, his face red. "I-" She smirked. He looked so flustered!

"It's a good thing your girlfriend hasn't walked in on us like this. Imagine what she would think." The thought made her stomach tremble, but why that was she didn't want to think about.

"Aren't you worried about what happens if Jacob finds out about this?" He blinked, surprise darting across his features. "Girlfriend? What on earth are you..?" He was trying to lie? Again? The bastard!

"Why are you hiding it from me, you idiot!" she snarled, standing up. "It's not like I care who you're going out with!"

"You never told me you were going out with Jacob." Chrono pointed out, using the table to pull himself stiffly to his feet. He looked shaky.

"Only because you didn't trust me enough to tell me about your girlfriend!"

"I don't have a girlfriend!" Chrono's eyes flashed. "I told you, I'm not dating! Why would I change that?"

"Because you're a- a-" she gave him a shove. "You're a lying jerk!"

"I'll take the jerk part, because yeah, I can be. However, I won't take the other, because I'm telling the truth! I don't have a girlfriend and I don't plan on getting one!" Chrono shoved his chair back into the table, resuming his attack on the tomato soup scum. Rosette stared at him. Was...he telling the truth? "Why didn't you tell me about Jacob?"

"It's none of your business who I date!"

"Then why are you so mad at me?" Chrono said wearily, setting the clean pot on the counter and draining the sink. "I've told you, over and over I don't plan to date. I even told you the reason." Rosette gulped, chewing her lip. "Rosette, I can't date, I won't date, and I don't intend to date. Not when..." Chrono sighed, putting the plates back in the cupboard. "I won't hurt someone just because I love them. It would be selfish, to say the least." Rosette snorted, taking the glasses from him. The idiot.

"Isn't it better to have loved and-" He shot her an exasperated glare.

"Please don't give me that." For some one who didn't intend to love, he said it so often...

"Alright, alright, I get the picture. But are you sure you're not just convincing yourself?" Chrono winched, rubbing his face.

"I've go to- to-" he was watching something out the window.

"You've got to what." Rosette couldn't keep the sarcasm out of her voice as she stepped closer. He licked his lips, his fingers tightening on the edge of the counter. "Admit it Chrono, you're-"

"I have admitted it!" Chrono snapped, picking up and casting aside a dishcloth. "I've admitted the truth to myself, and I'm the only one who needs to know!"

"Admitted what? It doesn't mean anything if you don't tell anyone!" Rosette yelled, grabbing his arm. The stupid, secretive- guilt clawed its way up her arm. Guilt over failing, guilt over the contract, guilt over loving- Chrono yanked his arm from her. "Chrono I-" Chrono backed away, his hands curling and uncurling at his sides, breathing hard. He looked so panicked, Rosette wasn't sure if she should just let him be, or- _guilt over loving-_ Who had he loved?

"I- What did-" His eyes were huge, latched on her face, his breath hitching. Who did he love? Did he know? Rosette crossed her arms over her chest to stop herself from grabbing his arm again. "You're dating Jacob to show Az that he's a nice guy?" Chrono floundered, his expression somewhere between shocked and confused. "Does he know it isn't real?"

"Yes. He helped me come up with the plan." Rosette shrugged, looking at him side on. "We have to get her away from Brad, don't we?"

"I don't know." Chrono answered, picking up a letter and reading the address. "You tell me. Az isn't exactly competitive, except in boarding-"

"How did you know she skateboards? I thought Jake and I were the only ones who knew about that!"

"She practices over at Bannerman park, where we go on Sundays. She doesn't usually go on Sundays, but I've seen her there sometimes, usually before a tournament. Erg. I'll have to talk to Ms. Harvenhiet about using the phone so much." he grumbled, setting the bill aside and picking up another. Rosette glanced at the pile before sitting down.

"Are all of them bills?" Chrono looked up from writing a number down and glanced at the pile. Rosette gasped, seeing the amount he'd written. "But that- that's nearly ten hours work at the cafe!"

"Mmhmm. The other part of living. Paying bills. There's phone. Electric. Cable. The plumbing work that had to be done last week. Internet. Aside from that there's groceries, medication, pet food, clothes, light bulbs, the list goes on and on." he scribbled down on last figure and started adding, paling at the total. "Guess it was a good thing I started working more hours, mm?" he noted ruefully.

"So...why aren't you working tonight?" She asked, glancing at the clock. "It's nine already."

"Shader never showed up. Something happened. Here. You've got one." He was sorting the remaining mail into piles for each person.

"A letter? How old school. It's from my father." Why would he be writing to her? Rosette opened the letter, realizing Chrono's face had gone white and the air around him had become tinted with fright. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing. It's fine." he said, smiling and returning to his sorting. "I- well...after what happened..." Chrono swallowed. "Well, Vincent Christov isn't really someone I want to meet again."

"I guess that means we can't get married."

"I'm sure we'd find a wa- what!" Chrono's cheeks turned scarlet as Rosette grinned. "What does your father have to say?" He finished stiffly.

"That I can get married if I wish."

"I guess Jake will have to accept that he won't get Azmaria." Chrono smirked. Jake? Rosette shuddered.

"He's not my type. A very nice guy, but not for me." She returned to the letter. "Dad- urk! Dad's coming down for the parent teacher meetings in November. Says he hopes my living quarters are good and that my marks are within...uh oh."

"Yes?"

"Uh...my marks aren't that high! They've been dropping." she squeaked. "Arg! If I don't get my marks up, I'll have to leave! And then I'll have to go back home!"

Return home? What would she do? At home, she had a tutor, and no job. She couldn't even do anything, because of all the maids doing everything for her. She didn't even get to help with the cooking. Besides, at home, there was no play; no group of popular girls to annoy...it would be so boring!

"You don't want to? Oh! Something fell out."

"What's this?" Rosette picked up the necklace, studying the strange marks carved around the sides. "A necklace?" she poked at the large marking scrawled on the top. Across the table, Chrono gasped, the letters he was holding dropping to the table as he clutched at his chest. "Chrono?"

"Wh- I- No! No!"

"Chrono!" Rosette jumped up, dropping the necklace to the floor. "Chrono! Snap out of it!" Rosette shouted, scrambling over the broken pieces to his side of the table. "Hey!" Grabbing his trembling shoulders, she tried to make him look at her, but before she could, the room darkened with black stream and she was falling.


	35. Talks

A/N: Hello, Sneko-chan here, starting this chapter before my first day of classes. Grade 10...hurray! First things first, I want to thank my reviewers for being so patient with this story, through the slow times and the action ones. Thank you so much! You've gotten yourself one happy kitty! Also, I just bought the cc anime...after never seeing it! I've only watched one episode...the voices are completely different then what I imagined! Rosette sounds a lot younger...and Chrono... (pwfaaaahaha!) He sounds like one of the hamsters on Hamtaro! Like a cross between Snoozer and Oxnard, or like someone from Keropi. (Am I the only one who remembers that show? With the chibi frogs?) It's soooo funny. And watching the three other sisters was funny too...with voices like that, I'm never going to be able to take the series seriously...sweat drop.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade!

Chapter 35

_Golden leaned over the edge of her cloud, groaning as the two souls were caught. _

_"Golden?" Gray came up from behind her and bent to look. "Look, Golden, I can't go against-"_

_"I know, I know!" The angellet snapped. "But that doesn't mean I won't!"_

She shut her eyes, leaning back against the door of her room. Safe. It had taken all her strength to pull off her chat with Chrono.

Plink. Plunk. Azmaria opened her eyes as a third rock bumped against the window. Pulling her long hair back off her face, she strode across the room.

"Hell-o!" she squeaked as the fourth rock bonked her in the forehead. "Ow!"

"Sorry!" Jake's voice floated up from below. "Azzy?"

"Jake! Give me a minute!" grabbing her backpack, Azmaria stuck her leg out the window and climbed onto the porch then shimmied her way to the ground.

"Nice one." Jake grinned as she straitened, tugging at her shirt. "You up for a walk?"

"Sure." tugging on her sweater, she fell into step with him, smiling as their fingers circled.

"So. How's Brad?" Jake teased. Az rolled her eyes.

"Dumb. If it weren't for the fact I want to get Rosette and Chrono together, I wouldn't even go near him. Still, I wasn't expecting Rosette to choose to go out with you. I thought you would have to suggest it."

"She was mad at Chrono and wanted to get back at him, though I'm not sure she knew that." Jake chuckled as they headed for the waterfront. "Hence, she asked me if I wanted to try her plan." Azmaria laughed, studying their twined hands.

"She...she knows it isn't..."

"Oh yeah!" Jake stopped, turning to look at her. "Az, you don't think that I like her like that, do you? I don't. And she's much to busy denying she likes Chrono for anyone else. They'll figure it out, but in the meantime..."He gave her a quick hug, and Az settled at his side. "We're partners in crime, I guess."

"I don't know." Jake stiffened at the tone of her voice. "How do I know you aren't using me?"

"Az!" Jake grabbed her shoulders and forced her to meet his eyes. "You know I..." she was crying? "Damn it!" muttering in frustration, he pulled her to him. "Azzy-dazzy, you know I wouldn't." Use her? Never. Betray her? He'd die first. Jacob nuzzled the small teen's hair. Az giggled.

_"_It's been ages since you called me that." she said, her voice still soggy. Jake scooped her up.

"What? Azzy-dazzy?" he stopped be the benches and plunked them down. "MY Azzy-dazzy, that is." It was now or never. Stomach on fire, Jake leaned forward and brushed his lips over hers...or he would've if she hadn't bent her head. "Hey! No fair!" he grumbled with a pout. Azmaria grinned.

"You caught me by surprise." She sniffed, her eyes giving a cheerful sparkle. "Care to try-" Jake had her before she finished the sentence. Az closed her eyes, savouring the fire, the openness, the-KERSPLASH! They pulled apart as a car drove by, sending a wave of muddy water over them. Jake grinned.

"Typical."

"So?" The couple strolled off down the street, ignoring the fact they were dripping water everywhere and just enjoying each other. "It isn't raining now though."

"Ah, but it wouldn't matter!" Jake smirked. "Because you're already soaked!

"It's getting late." Azmaria noted, pulling her sweater tighter as they stood on the front porch. "But I had fun."

"Me too. You joining Winter boards this season?" Jake leaned on the railing, crossing his legs. Az shook her head.

"Naw. With the RLP, I won't have time. I'm working. However, I heard there're some smaller tournaments coming up."

"Gre-"

"Azmaria!" Az leapt away from the door as it burst open. "Azmaria! I wasn't sure if any- oh never mind!" Kye grabbed her arm, the usually stubborn face looking panicked.

"Kye!" Tawny peered from the kitchen, relief on her face. "Azmaria! It's Uncle Chrono and Rosette!"

"Waaaaaah! They're dead!" Az could hear the youngest of Chrono's new charges howling from the kitchen.

"No they aren't, stupid!" Marie was grumbling. She looked up as Az and Jake came in. "It's about time!" Azmaria gasped.

The two teens were slumped on the floor, white knuckled hands clamped tightly together as blood dripped from between their fingers. Her eyes found the shattered necklace on the floor.

"Jake! Call Father Patterson!" She yelled, kneeling down to try and roll Rosette onto her back and figure out which of her friends was bleeding.

"We tried that!" Marie snapped impatiently. "But we can't get their hands apart!" She was right, Az noted, trying to pry Rosette fingers from Chrono's hand. Forget that.

"Where are the others, Satella, Viede-"

"Viede took Satella out, and Joshua and Fi went to a movie." Kye informed her. "Hey. What's that?" Carefully, he picked up the necklace, squinting at the markings. "These are the same one's that were in Chrono's room."

"What do you mean, 'the one's that were in Chrono's room'." Father Patterson asked, hobbling into the room, Jake at his heels. "And let me see the runes on that."

"Just let go!" Rosette clenched her teeth, tightening her grip on Chrono's hands as the dark drew them down. "Rosette, come on! You don't have to be hauled down too!" Chrono gave his arm another yank, his eyes dark against his paling face.

"No. I won't Chrono!" Rosette glared at him, then at the chains around his ankles that were pulling them down. She would NOT let go, she would not be separated from him again and she would not let him try and handle this on his own!

"Rosette, this is ridicules! I'll be fine, just let go!" He was afraid, she could tell. Besides that, he was frustrated, because she wouldn't listen. Rosette grinned.

"Mm. A book called Chrono. Makes for interesting reading." Her friend stiffened, his eyes widening.

"Rosette, please let go." he hissed, panic edging his tone. "Please! Before-"

"_Before what Chrono? Come along now."_ Rosette gasped, fire burning up from Chrono to her, loosening her grip. In that second, Chrono wrenched his hand from hers and vanished.

"Chrono!" She sat up, choking.

"Aunt Rosette!"

"She's awake!"

"Rosette!"

"Oof!" Rosette toppled over, the weight of Nina, Marie and Kino pushing her back.

"Rosette!" Mr. Remington looked relieved, his face white beneath tousled hair. "Thank goodness. Are you alright? What happened?"

"I-"

"You've been out for hours, you know." Hours? She'd only just started falling! How could it be hours. Chrono!

"Where's Chrono!" she threw off the blankets, struggling to get up, but Remington pointed beside her.

"We couldn't get your hands apart, so we had to put you in the same place. He hasn't woken up yet. It's best to- hey!" Rosette twisted, grabbing Chrono's shoulders.

"Chrono you stupid, over-protective idiot! Wake up! Now! Come on! When you wake up, I'm going to kill you, so wake up! Right now!" He had to be ok. He had to wake up. The pain she'd felt wasn't real; it was just a dream. He was ok; he was just sleeping, trapped in a bad nightmare. He'd wake up soon... wouldn't he?

It burned. Every inch of him burned.

"Chrono, Chrono, Chrono. Little fallen angel. Don't you see? You've chained yourself to this fate." The voice laughed. "And don't think your little friend is safe. Fate will tie her to you too. It doesn't matter how often you say to let go. Her stubbornness will drag her to this pit with you." The chains around his legs tightened, cutting through his flesh, his body, chaining his soul. "She will be caught, just by holding you!" No! Rosette! Chrono clenched his teeth, tugging at the chains. "But what's holding her to you? Is it her feelings, or those she reads from you?" He couldn't breath, the air to dense, choking, filling him like a foul aura, smothering him. He had to warn Rosette! He had to...to..."Don't you see? It isn't just her. It's all of them!" The smoke filled his vision. It was like the illusion from before, only this time it was in him, welling out. "You are a monster, and all monsters can do is destroy. Didn't you say that?" He had, he remembered. He'd destroyed her, again and again. Rosette! The fire in him grew hotter, eating him with each breath. "You will do what I need, regardless of whether you know it or not, Chrono. The past is there for you to see, the future too is in your eyes, but you can do nothing, I will lead the way for you to follow, and one way, or the other, you will, our little friend tagging along." He fell further with each word, the darkening fire surrounding him. He was nothing unusual.

Just another demon in hell.

"Chrono!" The fire..."Chrono!" someone was calling, the syllables like drops of water along his burnt back.

She was calling. _I heard a voice...You're voice. I knew I had to answer._ She had once said that, dragged back from the dead. "Chrono!" She was calling...

"You are mine!" the usual voice snarled. "No matter where you run!" _We're always running like this, aren't we?_

She was calling, and he would answer. Gritting his teeth, he reached up, grasping a word, a name, even as his palms bled, the runes engraved into them. He was still chained, he couldn't free himself.

But he could walk as far as the shackles would allow, and he would break what chains he could.

"Nnn..." Chrono groaned, rolling over to get the sunlight out of his eyes.

Sunlight?

He'd over slept!

"Oh no!" He scrambled, trying to pull off the thick layers of blankets that clamped him to the bed- bed? Chrono paused, pushing his hair behind his ears, trying to figure out where the sassafras he was.

"Awake? I would've thought you needed more sleep." he looked up as Mr. Remington strode into the bright room. "I was about to call you in sick again."

"Again? What time is it? How long have I been out? I- Rosette! Is she-" Remington sat at the foot of the bed, handing him a plate of toast.

"You've been asleep for nearly a week. You'll have six very happy children to handle when this is all over."

"Sassafras! The kids- wha? A week? But-" Ewan rolled his eyes. He shouldn't have mentioned the kids. "The kids! Are the ok? I can't believe I passed out when they were sick! I-"

"Calm down, will you! They're fine! Nina, Marie and Ben are pretty much over the chickenpox, and Tawny and Kino are rather spotted but will be fine. They're all here too, so they could stay close. They're perfectly fine. You're the one who needs the most rest right now, not them."

"Especially considering that, yet again, you've neglected to come for your checkups." Chrono winched as Marne glowered at him from the doorway.

"Uncle Chro-" Kino poked his head through the door, but Marne blocked him.

"Not now Kino. Your Uncle is about to get a lecture, and I don't want any distra-"

"Uncle Chrono! You're awake!" Marne toppled over as, as Remington predicted, six very happy kids raced into the room, leaping onto the bed.

"As I was saying." Marne growled, her eyes narrowed at the kids. "You are in big trouble, now out! with you six!" As soon as the room was quiet, Marne turned on him. "What are we going to do with you Chrono?" she moaned, leaning back against the door.

"Um...A lecture?" Chrono asked helpfully. He hated them, but he hated seeing Marne so defeated.

"You never listen, and even if you did, you were right before, you never do have time to come in, although I think you should be able to make time. Roll over."

"Woof woof." Chrono sighed, doing as she ordered and letting her check the amplifier.

"It's gone further into your spine, by the look." Marne said quietly. "Any attempt to remove it will certainly paralyze you, permanently."

"Then I guess it'll have to stay there." He said, forcing calm into his voice but unable to meet Remington or Marne's eyes, refusing to meet their worried looks. "Look, its ok. I know I don't have much time left, but I can't let that slow me down." He smiled reassuringly. "It'll work out. I'll just be more careful now." Marne scowled.

"You say that every time." she grumbled. "But you better follow through D'Crusa. Next time this sort of thing happens, I swear I will take you over to my place and keep you there for a year! I'll be back later Ewan." The other two watched as she left, saying nothing other then cheerful farewells, but when she'd gone, Mr. Remington turned to Chrono.

"Fine, you'll be more careful. How're the online courses doing?"

"Not bad. If this is to try and get-"

"I know that won't work." Mr. Remington sighed, leaning on the bedpost. Again, silence wriggled between them. Finally, Remington banged on the wall. "You're too stubborn, you know that?"

"Uhhuh." Chrono answered, staring out the window and watching as Rosette tore up the street. That's right. He still had some things he had to do in that department. "Late again."

"What?" The teacher moved to see, but Rosette had already gone past. "It is Sunday, you know."

"Mr. Remington? Do you have a pair of scissors?" He'd need scissors, to start with. Then what? Some ingenuity would help, and a bit more in the guts area, but he could find that when he needed it. Right now he had to make a couple changes before resuming his duties as boarding house manager.


	36. Bubbles

A/N: I'm starting this chapter now because I can't upload chapter 35, and it's very annoying that I can't. In fact, it's rather distressing, mainly because I haven't updated since...Wednesday? Thursday? I've lost track. My school is up in slings at the moment, so I'm having trouble concentrating...and that's with my homework all done! anyway, I will probably update once a week from here on out, and if you get more then that, which isn't likely, consider it an early Christmas gift from Sneko-chan. Also, I watched episode 2 of the anime...little Chrono's voice isn't bad, it's kinda cute, especially when he's serious. Rosette's on the other hands...is very annoying, so I guess it fits her character in the anime. And what's with her saying "I was a bad girl' all the time? Nope, her persona in the anime is veeeerrrrrryyyyy different.

Chapter 36

_"Darn! Not again!" Golden paced back and forth on her cloud. When would he learn? Never. That's why they'd failed so often before. Failure wasn't an option now though, and she had to think of some way to avoid it. She had to find a way to stop him being so darn bull headed!_

"Rosette. Rosette. Rosette." For someone who was supposed to be upset-

"Enough!" Brad jumped, his hands falling from where they'd been on her waits.

"Oof! Brad you idiot!" Rosette didn't even bother curbing the urge to hit her 'partner' over the head. The week had been hell and she had no patience.

"Temper, temper, Miss Christov." Aion purred as he clacked onto the stage, patting Azmaria's head as he passed by her. "Mr. Maloney, I know our Miss Hendric is a very pretty girl, but do try to keep yourself in the part. We don't want the crowd to think that you're not entirely faithful to your 'beloved' Rosette." Aion stopped and extended a hand to her. "My apologies, Miss Christov, for not helping you up sooner."

"You owe apologies, but not to me." Rosette smoothly slid to her feet, glowering haughtily at Aion.

"Rosette. Surely you aren't still listening to the lies of my little brother? Ah well, I suppose it can't be helped." Aion smiled, patting her on the head, just as he'd done to Azmaria. Rosette swatted his hand away, sticking out her tongue as he strolled across the stage. He turned as she did, catching the motion. "Miss Christov, might I advise you to be more respectful to your teachers? I should hate to see you put in an embarrassing position, or perhaps something might come up when my assistance is needed. You would be well put to be on my good side." he shrugged daintily, flicking at some dust on his jacket. "You, of course, wouldn't want _someone_ else drawn into your acting problems." Someone else? Rosette stiffened. He didn't mean Chrono, did he? Chrono who was still passed out over at Mr. Remington's? "I see you understand, Miss Christov. See that it helps. Resume."

Rosette allowed Brad, once again to support her as he 'desperately' cried her name. How was Chrono? He hadn't woken when she'd gone over early that morning, nor had he any other day she'd gone over to check. Marne had told her that it was simply because he had been pushing himself too far, and Rosette could believe that. It was typical Chrono. Besides, as the week had gone on, his face had lost the fearful, pained look it'd had when she'd first come round. It seemed he was simply getting back some of the sleep he'd missed working nights.

Unfortunately, that didn't seem to stop her worrying.

"Enough, enough." Aion grumbled, clapping his hands. "I can see Sunday practices are absolutely useless. There will be no more of them." The cast cheered, racing from the room out into the sunny freedom of a weekend in the fall.

Crunch. Crunch. Rosette smiled as the leaves crackled beneath her feet. She'd never really noticed the sound of leaves since Chrono showed her, back there, at the labs. One of the scientists had let him out to play for once, and he'd brought her with him. It had been funny, because he'd taken off his shoes and burrowed onto a huge pile, disappearing completely, even with his violet hair.

"Hey? Where did you go?" Rosette whined, staring at the huge pile of golden leaves. "Heyyaaa? Hello?" Carefully, she put one foot down on the crackling mass, winching as the leaves shifted beneath her.

Crick. She paused, toeing the leaves. They really were very pretty, golden, red, brown.

Crack. There were twigs intermingled with them too, and those made a much louder cracking noise. It was noisy. Rosette grinned. She wasn't allowed to make noise, it was rude but...

"Hiyaah!" She dove into the leaves, laughing as they prickled and scratched, crunching around her.

Fwashk! "Aug! Hey! Pitoo!" Squawking indignantly, Rosette spat out a mouthful of leaves and glared at her grinning playmate.

"That's what happens when you leave your mouth open." smiling quietly, he tossed another handful of leaves at her.

"Why you!" Screeching, she grabbed a handful and threw it at him, distracting him as she ran over and knocked him into the pile. "Mouth open? Your mouth will be open even wider you big goose!" Baring her teeth she unleashed her ultimate weapon...

The tickle attack.

"Uwahahaha- hey! Cut it oh no! Not the si -ha-ha-des!" Squealing and laughing, they chased each other around the small field, not a test subject and a modern princess, but two children, enjoying each other's company.

"Uwah! No! Not the sides!" Rosette looked up with a gasp then grinned as she watched Nina throw leaves at an outraged Kye, who now bore a very colourful headdress of the things. "That's for tickling me!" the smaller child snapped.

"Oh yeah?" Grinning himself now, Kye launched himself at the child and tossed her lightly into the pile of leaves. Smiling, Rosette tiptoed past the pair and into the house.

"I'm home." She sighed, dragging herself to the kitchen. This sucked. Everyone else was out, leaving after practice or having work.

"You seem bluesy today." She dropped into a chair, putting her forehead on the table as Chrono slid a plate of fluffy white cookies in front of her.

"Ug. Tell me about it!" She growled, gulping down the first cookie and choking. Gasping, she slugged down her milk. "I mean come on! Practice on Sunday? That totally sucks! And Brad was being a sleaze and watching Azzy the whole time! I wanted to kill him! And..." she paused, staring at her last cookie in confusion. "And it's been boring, because I've had no one to torment this week-" A cookie? It had been a week of bad cooking: burnt bread, over boiled veggies, fast food and greasy pizza. The cookies weren't bad either. In fact, they were very good. "Chrono!" Rosette let out a yelp, finally registering the fact that her friend was standing at the counter working on supper and not asleep the next house over.

"Mmhmm." Chrono inspected the bowl he was holding, picking at white goo that covered it with a sigh. "Well, it could be worse..." Rosette frowned. What on earth was he talking about?

"Are you sure you're alright?" She stood and walked to the counter, peering up at him. "You're acting funny." Smirking, she reached over to tug his braid, but her fingers only circled a soft, short ponytail that reached just behind his shoulder blades. "You cut your hair! Chrono, how could you? It was so..."

"It was in the way."

"Yeah right. Let's see." Snorting, Rosette tugged the scrunchie from his hair despite his attempts to catch her hand and the strands flopped around his face like a fluffy purple halo, the dark colour making his eyes appear to glow. _Oh._ Gulping, Rosette stepped away from his steady eyes, heart tumbling in a very worrying manner as he shrugged, resuming his scrubbing. As he bent his head, the strands slipped foreword, curtaining his profile so only the faint glow of his gold eye could be seen.

"Sassafras." he muttered, making Rosette grin.

"So what's the white stuff anyway?" she picked up a bowl covered in what appeared to be goo covered white sprinkles that had hardened. Chrono sighed, flicking strands of hair behind his ears and away from his face. Maybe his hair was nice short too, Rosette mussed.

"It's- hey!" He twisted as she scooped his hair back into a short braid, tying it off with the scrunchie.

"Well?" She asked, nabbing another cookie and washing her glass and plate. Chrono sighed, shaking his head and setting his braid and bangs bouncing. Rosette watched the effect, the cloth frozen in her hands, only realizing moments later that he'd already started talking.

Two hours earlier, Chrono had happily escaped a fourth lecture from Marne and had closed the front door, pleased to be home and letting the kids play in the yard's fresh jacket of leaves while he inspected the (great) damage. It wasn't as bad as he'd feared. If anything had blown up, they'd done a passable job of hiding it, unlike at Mr. Remington's where Kye, Kino and Tawny had blown up the microwave trying to make breakfast for themselves since Mr. Remington slept much later that Chrono did. Ewan had taken to getting up much earlier after that, if only to protect his appliances. Speaking of which- "YAH!" he froze as he stepped into the kitchen. "Sweet sassafras and vinegar!" Gulping, Chrono backed up to the basement door, winching as his hand encountered something sticky and very slimy.

Pizza boxes, Chinese take-out boxes, remnants of what might have been chicken, scraggly vegetables and a very disturbing black goop covered the floor, table, walls, pretty much everywhere except the counter, but that was only because the counter was covered with dirty dishes. Holding his breath against the smell -possibly a delicate combination of badly fried rice, cabbage and rotten eggs- he waded over to the counter and started in on the dishes, proceeding once he was finished that to shovel out the rest of the room and scrub the walls.

"Good grief." Chrono flopped onto a chair, looking around the now-clean kitchen. "I can't believe it was possible for it to get so messy in here so fast." Then again, he noted as he riffled through his recipes for something to make, it had been a whole week. It was bound to get dirty. He needed something to make for the kid's lunches, and the others lunches as well. Hah! He studied the cookie recipe he'd come up with, coconut macaroons. He hadn't made these in a while...

He should've picked something easier, especially after cleaning for so long.

"Let's see...four egg whites...whoops!"

(After cleaning up the broken eggs)

"Whisked with sugar...is it half a cup or a third?"

(After deciphering the recipe and cleaning up sugar and egg slime)

"Finally, five and a half cups of coconut...SASSAFRAS!"

Days like these could definitely turn a guy off cooking, at least when they were really tired.

"Ha- You're kidding, right?" Rosette scrubbed at her eyes, munching on another 'Disaster macaroon'. "I never thought you had trouble with cooking!"

"I'd forgotten how long it had been since I made them." Chrono wrinkled his nose. "And I remember why. I don't actually like them that much."

"Really?" Rosette grabbed the plate and snaffled down the rest. They really were very good. Chrono strode across the room, leaning on the counter and staring out into the backyard. Quietly, Rosette followed, standing beside him and watching the kids play.

"Do you remember when-"

"I try not to think about the labs." he cut her off curtly, turning away. Hurt. Rosette looked back to the window and caught his reflection smiling softly. "But, that is one memory that..." Chrono scooped up a handful of soap bubbles and blew them at her.

"Hey!" What had he been going to say? She wondered, grabbing some bubbles and smearing them on his face. He laughed and retaliated with some in her hair. "You idiot!" Now it would go all curly! Growling, she whacked him on the head.

"Uh...we're home?" The two bubble covered combatants froze, grinning sheepishly at Azmaria, Joshua and Fi.

"What exactly are you...doing?" Azmaria asked, studying the soap covered floor.

"This!" Grinning, Rosette flung some bubbles at her.

"Why you!" Fi, Joshua and Azmaria squealed and laughed, flinging bubbles at each other and Rosette.

"Don't you sneak away Chrono!" Rosette snarled, tackling him and tickling his sides. "You started it!"

"Did I?" For a moment he looked blank, before he grinned back and threw more bubbles.

Perhaps it was good there were so many dishes. It meant there were lots of bubbles to go around.

A/N: I know, a pointless chapter, but fun to write. I watched the whole CC anime...wail! Sob...It was so sad. However, there was a point about the anime ending that I liked better than the manga: In the anime, Rosette and Chrono get six months alone together. In the manga, Chrono returns after seven years separation, but then they die either then or very soon after. If you remember, Azmaria says: "This is the story of two people who are no longer with us..." At the end of the manga while she sets the pocket watch, which Chrono took with him, on the counter beneath the picture. Sigh... No, plot wise, the manga is better, but if you think of them as two separate series, it's easier not to compare. There were more sad moments in the anime, but there were many more fluffy moments too, the carnival scene being much fluffier in the anime -. Whatever way you cut it, it's a sad ending, but...there's a Five for Fighting song that has a line that goes something like: "There are no happy endings; it's the happy moments along the way that in the end make it ok." It's true in this case, no? Waaaaaah! It was still sad!


	37. Where Chrono gets a headache

A/N: Hi! Well, I guess you could say this is a warning to the wise: the story is going to get a bit crazy, mainly because I made a mistake early on, and I need to do something about it! Y'see, Rosette and Chrono really weren't supposed to be this close when it was only October...so, since I'm off schedule, I'll have to do the next best this...go with the flow, even if that's only for dead fish, thus, the story might become a little...strange. Still, I hope you enjoy it! Oh! And to my dear reviewers who have fanfiction stories that I love to read, and to anyone else whom writes cc fanfiction and posts it. Because I'm now spending most of my time reading other people's fanfics and not writing my own, I have put myself on a fanfic diet; this means that I can only read fanfiction when I post a chapter...sob! Sniffle wiffle...Must. Finish. Chapter...in any case, because of this, you'll have to excuse my tardiness in reviewing. If you post more than once during the time it takes me to write a chapter, don't worry. I will review all missed chapters. If you ever dare to think about deleting, contact me first and I'll tell you why you shouldn't, okee dokee? Sorry for the inconvenience, and for the cruel wait to writers, because I do understand the need for reviews, but I'm waaaaaay behind. Like I said, this was going to be finished in August...Ha. Ha. Ha. sweat drop Since I'm aiming for a chapter a week, I'll read all the postings for that week that day...maybe I'll get a review while I read! Anyway, this author's note is getting long so...

_Gray studied the youth. As he knew it would be, the boy's soul was floundering in its body, dangerously close to leaving. He might last, or he might not. It was hard to tell for he was wavering. Gray bit his lip. What should he do? Did he follow Superior's wishes...or did he free Golden of her burden? He didn't know!_

"Hey! Chrono! Rosette! Guess what!" Azmaria squealed, bursting into the kitchen.

"Yow!" Rosette struck Chrono over the head as she cut her finger on the cheese grater.

"What was that for?" He snapped, rubbing the bump as Rosette bounded around, sucking on her finger.

"She distracted me and I cut it!" Rosette waved her mortally wounded finger in front of her friend's face. "See! You didn't warn me, so it's your fault!"

"What do you want me to do? Kiss it better?" Before she fully realized what he'd said, Chrono grabbed her hand and brushed his lips across the tiny cut, sending tingles up her arm, even as he let her hand go and met her eyes, looking totally innocent. "Better?"

"You pervert!" Rosette shrieked as Chrono dove beneath the counter for cover against her assault. "You- you-" She swallowed, giving Chrono a half hearted whack over the head before turning to Azmaria. "You were saying." she grunted, trying to keep the very determined shocked squeal out of her voice.

"Well!" Azmaria gushed, the words rushing out so fast Rosette didn't really hear them...but then, she was busy staring at her finger, where the tiny cut was quietly ceasing its trickle of blood. It didn't really hurt, the cut.

But he'd kissed her! He'd kissed her hand, teasing her! Chrono didn't tease! When he teased, he was like a guy her age, or an older brother, or worse yet, an older brother's best friend, the kind of guy girls fell madly in love with, but never got because they were too young, or were simply over looked, or the big brother wouldn't allow it.

Either way, the girl didn't get the guy!

"Arg!" Rosette hit Chrono again, shaking her own head as she tried to clear it. No! She didn't need to worry about losing Chrono; she didn't have him! Anyways, even if she could, she didn't want a stuffy (ok, responsible), quirky (very cute quirks of character), brotherly (protective, in a sweet way), purple haired (very nice purple hair too) guy. It would just be too much work.

"So, will you come?" Rosette blinked, realizing the question was for her. Azmaria pouted. "Rose-ette! Honestly!" The girl put her hands on her hips and Rosette rolled her eyes. Az was getting more over dramatic by the week; Brad's doing, no doubt. "We have tomorrow off from school, so Jake suggested that I invite everyone from the boarding house over to his out of town house for a party/sleep over. We'd go back tomorrow afternoon, but you could leave earlier, if you wanted, but then," she grinned in a way that made Rosette wonder it Brad had brain washed her. "if you do go home early, than you have to pay for the whole trip. What d'ya say? The Satella's, Viede, Joshua, Fi and Jake are all in. How about you two? I'm going too, of course."

"No school tomorrow?" Rosette paused. She'd forgotten about the in-service...SCORE!

"Yeah, of course we're going!" Rosette cheered, grabbing Chrono's arm. This was perfect! A party was just what they needed!

"Whoa there, Rosette." The violet haired teen calmly shrugged her hands off, escaping back to the counter and scraping the cheese into a baggie while the other danced cheerfully with Azmaria. "_You_ might be going, but I'm not."

"Aw, why not!" Rosette stuck out her lip and made her eyes watery, smirking as he turned away. Got him.

"Yeah Chrono!" Az pleaded, slipping over and touching his shoulder. "Is...is it because you don't like us?" The pale haired girl widened her eyes then looked downcast. Rosette had to admit that while she wanted to chew off the small hand that rested loosely on their land lord's shoulder, the kid was doing a good job. Chrono pulled the plug in the sink, jabbing at the clogged drain with a knife until the water went through.

"You know that's not true." He answered patiently, folding dish towels from the dryer. "However, I have work tomorrow, the kids have school, I've missed a week of work-"

"So you've been ill! You need recovery time!" Rosette latched onto his other arm. How much pleading was it going to take?

"I'm not ill now Rosette." Chrono snapped, his face turning pink. "I don't think it's a good idea, and I have the kids to get to school tomorrow."

"Uncle Ewan could take us!"

"Or Aunt Shader!"

"Or Aunty Kate!"

"What about Uncle Austy?"

"That's the same as Aunt Shader, Kino! Don't be stupid!"

"Am not! Anyways, they're different people! Ow! Marie!"

"Yeah dumb-dumb, but they're married! They live in the same house!"

"Hey! How about Uncle Benji? Wheeeooo!"

"Yeah, or I could look after us all. Hey! What's with that look?"

"I'm the top kid here, Kye!"

"I'm older and more responsible than you!"

"AND you're ALL supposed to be doing your homework!" the six augmenters froze, gazing up at their uncle with surprise as he pointed to the basement door. "Get!" The kids skulked away, sending him murderous looks.

"Don't worry! We'll convince him!" Rosette mouthed to Tawny. She grinned, passing the word along to the others.

"I'm afraid you'll have to change your plans on that one." Chrono muttered; putting away the dishes and the food he'd lain out for supper. "And shouldn't you be getting ready to go?"

"Not until you agree to come with us." Rosette grinned as he groaned. Ooh, it was fun teasing him! "Besides, maybe you could learn something." Quickly, she dodged over and blocked the basement door, signalling Az to take the kitchen one, trapping him. "Aw c'mon Chrono! Loosen up for once!" Chrono crossed his arms and glared at her.

"I don't have time to loosen up, Rosette."

"The whole reason you passed out was that you haven't been getting enough rest."

"I'm getting used to a new schedule, and besides-"

"Yeah, but the whole problem, was that you work, work, work and don't play." She was pushing it, she knew. And she was running out of arguments, not that his were any better. All she had to do was out last them.

"I play with-"

"The kids," Rosette cut in, clamping a hand over his mouth. "are part of your work. Maybe you find that enjoyable, maybe you don't, but its still work. Like I said, you have to relax-"

"I don't think that's a good idea." She gleefully noted the cornered look on his face.

"Besides, what if something, I dunno, was to happen? Or people stayed up all night? Or there was an accident? We'd need someone who was..."

"Responsible!" Az threw in and Rosette gave her a smile.

"Calm."

"Good at talking to people."

"Intelligent. Come on Chrono! Please! We'd need you there in case anything went wrong!" Rosette widened her eyes until she thought they would fall out, but he still shook his head.

"No." She wanted to slap her forehead. Since when was he so stubborn...ok, when he dug his heels in, he was stubborn. Extraordinarily stubborn.

"Chroooonoooo!" Azmaria hid her face as Rosette pounced on him, shaking him and giving him a bop on the head. "You. Are. Going. To. Come. With. Us. Or. I. Will. Never. Forgive. You!" the blonde shrieked in his ear.

"No."

"Eraug!" Rosette screeched, picking him up by the collar, noticing in some corner of her enraged mind that he'd smiled slightly as she bellowed at him.

"Nope." he said cheerily when she'd stopped screaming. "I'm not going."

"Aren't you?" Rosette growled. He was going to die. She would kill him; there were many ways she could. Maybe she'd practice on Aion first, then go on to Chrono. Hmm. Which way worked best? Poison? Blunt object? Sharp object?

"I can't believe I'm doing this." He muttered, squished between Rosette and the window of Shader's station wagon, which she'd kindly lent them after agreeing to look after the kids for the night and get them to school the next day.

This was a bad idea. For one thing, he hated loud noisy parties, even with people he lived with, because generally, he wasn't very good at the things most people did at parties. He steadfastly refused to drink, he didn't smoke, he wouldn' dance.

He didn't even want to go! He'd only called Shader because Rosette threatened to strangle him, and he'd been dragged out to the car and pretty much thrown in. He didn't even know what was in the bag that Rosette had so 'kindly' packed for him.

The stupid thing was, none if it was necessary. He would've called Shader, even knowing this was a bad idea, he would've packed his own bag and even gotten in the car, simply because... why?

Most likely because, as Rosette had pointed out, things happened at parties. What if there was an accident? Or Rosette got hurt? He cast the exuberant girl a quick look. No, he didn't like parties, but he didn't think he could stand the worry that Rosette had so kindly ingrained in him. Wonderful. Just fantastic. Fatherly Chrono, at it again. She'd probably be calling him a stuffy, boring twit by the end of the evening anyway. Chrono perked up. Of course! That was the perfect way to salvage his plan! After all, he was failing miserably so far.

He'd hoped that by cutting his hair, the one part about his looks that Rosette seemed to like, that she wouldn't hang so close. It might even have worked...if he'd cut it shorter, like how guys normally wore their hair! Unfortunately, there was a major roadblock between him, cutting his hair so Rosette wouldn't like him (If she did. He didn't know) and him pushing her away. One little problem.

He didn't want to. He couldn't even blame it on a stressful situation that time!

"Sassafras," Chrono sighed, resting his head on the door. He liked her. He liked Rosette a lot. That was the only reason he'd come, because he didn't think he could live with himself if he hadn't been there when she was hurt. If she was hurt. He was a bad, bad demon souled person. He couldn't even stop himself from liking a girl he had no business liking! Nor could he bring himself to push her away. He'd never wanted to tease Mary, never wanted to make her mad, just as she never tried to make him mad. They just were, softly, quietly there. Rosette was completely different, and frighteningly enough, he didn't mind! Just as the tingle he'd felt kissing her finger...enough! He couldn't think of that. He had to remember that Rosette deserved someone who could spend all his time with her, someone who would be with her all her life, not some one who was supposed to die before next July. Yet... maybe, just maybe, if he asked nicely enough...no. He touched his aching head. How many times had she hit him that evening? "Rosette?"

"Uhhuh?"

"Hit me over the head, will you?"

"There's not enough room. Besides, I don't have a reason."

"Since when do you need one?" he sniffed.

Whack.

For someone who didn't have enough room, she hit pretty hard.

"Hey Jake! Is it much further?" Rosette yelled, setting his headache off again.

"About half an hour. You guys alright back there?"

"Yup, fine." Rosette called before settling back.

"Speak for yourself." Chrono muttered, clenching his teeth as he earned himself another whack. Ooh, he was doing well on that front this evening. He was doomed for when she got tired and grumpy.

"Hey Chrono?" Cringing, he twisted so he could see her better.

"Yes?" Satella swerved around another corner, sending them all lurching into each other.

Thump. Chrono felt his face pink as Rosette sprawled across his lap. "Are you alright?" She grinned.

"Yes stupid, I'm fine. I had a nice cushion." she gave him a poke in the side. "Anyways; Chrono?" she caught his fingers and held them up as if studying them. Her hands were so small!

"Yes?" he squeaked, trying to concentrate on her voice. Rosette sighed, dropping his hand onto her stomach so he was holding her steady as they rounded a second large turn.

"I'm glad you're coming." The girl looked away, fiddling with her hair. "It wouldn't be fun unless you were there."

"Don't say that yet!" he grinned. "I'm not one for parties!"

"I don't know." she smirked. "I've seen you cut loose singing before, why not again?" His stomach tightened, bringing a sandpaper-y sensation to his eyes. Licking his suddenly dry lips, he watched as they passed by a large building that looked like a Nanaimo bar, then a store, then two funny triangle shaped buildings. Singing... sassafras. Why did that always come into it?

"You're doing it again." He yelped as Rosette reached up, grabbed his already-sore cheeks and tugged. He was never going to survive this! Abruptly, she let go, dropping her hands on top of the one he still had on her stomach. "I'm sorry."

To his horror, she actually DID look sorry as she studied his hands again. Why was she so interested in them? Maybe, like him, she couldn't bear the thought of meeting eyes. The thought sure scared him, but he hated seeing her so sad. And why?

Because of him.

"Aw sass! Don't be sorry. It's not your fault. I'm just the kinda guy who gives up. I made the choice, I'll deal with it." Rosette raised an eyebrow, looking both sceptical and giving him a nice flash of bright blue eyes as they passed under a street light.

"You mean that 'take and deal' thing from before? It's just an excuse and you know it."

"Yup." he forced the cheer into his voice.

She'd dragged him out to this so he would have a good time, and even if he couldn't let himself do that, he refused to think of bogging her down. All he had to do was hide in a back room somewhere, keeping an eye on her but not being too fatherly...

Whack.

"OW! What was THAT one-" Rosette scowled.

"I know what you're thinking you violet haired twit! You're planning to-" The group squealed as the car shuddered to a stop, grabbing onto the nearest thing to stop from falling all over one another. Before either of them realized what he was doing, Chrono found himself with an armful of Rosette.

"S-sorry!" he let go quickly, tensing in case she decided to hit him.

"Hey guys!" Jake grinned, turning around. "We're here!" Slowly, shakily, they all tottered out of the steaming car and stared at the huge house.

"What a cute spot Jacob!" Fi said, smiling. Ms. Harvenhiet stepped into the garden, looking around at the dark plants.

"Yes...yes, quaint, but very nice." For the umpteenth time since they'd left, Chrono turned pink, thankful that it was dark enough to hide the fact. Quaint? The place was huge! At least four stories, and at least three rooms deep by... ten across?

"Good grief." he moaned. Was this what they were used to? And bigger? No wonder Rosette had thought the place a dump when she arrived!

"Something wrong Chrono?" He blinked, realizing the others were all on the front porch. Sassafras! Blushing an even darker shade of pink, he hurried to join them.

The next morning couldn't come fast enough.

A/N: Well, that's another chapter, and it wasn't too crazy...but what will the next chapter hold as we near the forty mark? Who knows! I just hope you like it! That's all from this chapter of New Time, New Place, but while I'm on the diet, who knows when I'll see you all again...ARG! I'll go insane! How will I last...I'll just have to force myself to write more! Gosh, how awful! Thanks to all my reviewers and to all my readers, but especially my reviewers! See you soon!


	38. This Kissing Game

A/N: Waugh! So few reviews...did I lose you all? Nope! I still have some of you! Hurrah! Thank you who did review the last chapter! I'm sorry again if I'm late reviewing any stories that are posted, but give me time, I will, promise! Okey dokee then, on to chapter 30...8? Waaauuuug! (Falls over!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade. I own Ikkimyoyo, Bridges, Dream of Dragons (which will never by finished) and various other comics I've come up with, but I don't own cc. I can only dream that one day, my comic (or book/movie) will be this popular...sigh. I can dream, can't I?

Chapter 38 (I've thought about this a lot. Look at the month I'm at- the end of October. Chrono supposedly has until July. I'm soooo screwed at this rate, so I hope you really like it- I might be writing this for a while!

_Golden smiled, watching her charge as he struggled not to gape at the huge mansion that his friends call quaint. Well, maybe he would loosen up, because that was what they needed now: to release them from the chains that bound them. Once that was done...then what? Rosette would live on, get married and eventually go to heaven, and Chrono? Would die young and go to hell...There had to be a better way!_

Rosette wrinkled her nose against the country house smell of Jake's out of town house. It wasn't musty, or anything like it, just...empty, usually.

"Sorry," Jake said, smiling weakly as he latched onto her arm. "You know how this sort of thing is. I know it's cramped, but I hope you'll enjoy the party." he gave her a pleading look as they went into the living room. "Hey, Rosette?" she nodded as Jake dropped his voice. "Uh, about Az and Brad. Is...is the plan making any difference?" Rosette gulped. She'd totally forgotten! Quickly, she glanced over at Az who was standing across the room, chatting with Fi and Ms. Harvenhiet.

"Uhm...Yes!" she blurted, straitening and giving him a broad smile. "Yes, I'm sure it is!" What was a little white lie going to do in this case? Jake liked Az and Brad wasn't here so... she grinned. "I've got an idea! Az likes music, so why don't we put some on?" She made a small gesture at the huge sound system that was subtly spread through the room. "You and I can dance for awhile, then I could...I dunno, sprain an ankle? Or I could just get tired. She might need a partner by then, so..." Jake grinned back.

"I get ya. Give me a moment!" Quickly, he darted out of the room, and a couple seconds later, loud music hurled from the speakers.

"I love this song!" Rosette grabbed Jake the instant he entered the room and dragged him into the centre of the floor to dance. Within the space of two words, Rosette was living in the music, as were the others, bouncing, living, breathing the sound, the rhythm.

"_So Let's. Live in the twilight. Dance, Dance 'til you're outta sight. I'll live, Live into the twilight yah!"_ the words of the some weren't melodic, or even with much point, but they were made to chain your feet to the song and get you moving, as were the words of the next piece, Summer Laughs, and the next...and the next...

"Rosette!" she blinked and glanced over to where Az was. "She's watching!" he hissed, the glee evident in his voice. He was right. The pale girl was indeed watching them from the side of the dance floor...where she was standing holding Chrono's hand. It was all Rosette could do not to freeze in her tracks. Quickly, she resumed dancing, forcing herself to move with the speeding beat, trying to erase the image from her head. Against her will, she glanced back. Thankfully, Azmaria had moved off and was talking to Ms. Harvenhiet again. Chrono seemed to have disappeared.

Crap!

She'd known that it was going to happen, didn't she? She'd known he'd disappear as quickly as he could once they reached here, that if she didn't haul him out, he would take his normal post as wallflower.

A very pretty wallflower at that.

"Dammit! Jake?" Rosette caught his arm. "I'm going to stop now, ok?" The boy nodded enthusiastically and bounced over to Azmaria, leaving Rosette alone.

"Aw Come on, Chrono! Are you sure?" Chrono sighed, looking away from Azmaria.

"No thanks. I don't like to dance." he said, careful to keep his voice even. He was lying again, but not really. He didn't hate to dance- he just didn't think he could dance while watching Rosette dance with their host. Chrono snorted, blowing his bangs out of his face. He'd tried to catch Rosette as they'd come in, but she'd promptly caught up with Jake and trundled off, leaving him alone with a very clear message.

"Chrono! Aw don't be a-" Azmaria grabbed his hand, attempting to pull him out to where the others were dancing.

"No." He growled, pulling away. "I just said I don't like to dance, and I said before I didn't like this sort of thing." He was being a jerk, but he was tired of this and he'd been here what? Half an hour? Finally, Azmaria pouted and went to go talk to Ms. Harvenhiet. Relieved, he took the chance and slipped from the room out onto the balcony, happy as he shut the door, blocking out the music. Music. They'd started a singing contest, not something he wanted to be anywhere close to. "Aw sassafraaaaaaaas." he slumped over, leaning on the wooden rail and dangling his arms over the sides. Singing...dancing, having a drink even though he was underage...no. He couldn't do that. He'd come to make sure no one got hurt, and by the laughter inside, it was probably a good thing someone was. There seemed to be an awful lot of jeering, laughter, squabbles and squeals, enough to fill the huge house.

"There you are Chrono!" the doors behind him burst open, washing him in the noise of the party as Rosette staggered out, still giggling. "Oh you should've heard Jacob sing Moonlit reaches!" she chuckled, shutting the doors and leaning on the rail beside him. "It was hilarious! He couldn't stay on key, and he was staring at Az the whole time!"

"Did you mind?" Chrono forced himself to stare at the circular pond in the garden, trying to keep his eyes on the bright circle and not Rosette's glowing face. She was so...vibrant, as always.

"What? That he was off key or that he was singing for Az?"

"You seemed to like dancing with him."

"You know all about my plan Chrono! A little match making!" He couldn't help it. He turned, hopping up onto the railing and watching her as the moon lit her face and turned her hair silvery.

Angelic. The angel for his demon, the purity for his taint. Perfect opposites. "The perfect match." She sighed dreamily, seemingly unaware of his thoughts...or had her eyes just slipped over to him, just for a moment longer? Rosette grinned. "Oh! They're playing blindfold kiss inside. You want to play? Joshua kissed Az, and I was sure that Jake was going to kill him, let alone Fi!"

"I thought you were having a singing competition." Now he was really confused. Was this normal for parties? Rosette laughed, waving a hand at him as she sipped her sprite.

"No, no," she laughed when she swallowed. "We're waiting on you for that. We started Blind kiss while we were waiting."

"I'm not-Ack!" instantly his air was cut off as something latched around his neck and bit his ear.

"Uwah!" Ms. Harvenhiet stepped back, untying her blindfold. "Oh! I got Chrono!" she squealed happily, giving him a light push as she danced back into the house.

"Arg!"

Thump. For only being one story up, the fall seemed like an awful long way.

"Chrono!" Rosette leaned over the railing. "I'm going to kill that woman!" she screamed, racing back into the house. Judging by the screams inside, Ms. Harvenhiet was getting it good. Grunting, he sat up, dropping his head to his knees at a brief dizzy spell. He was lucky he hadn't broken anything, he noted as he eased himself onto a bench. He'd be bruised, but nothing too bad.

"Arg! Oh no! Rosette stop!" he could hear Az inside, trying to quell the vengeful blond. Chrono laughed, inching his way back to the house until something clicked back into place and he could walk again. He couldn't help feeling somewhat flattered that Rosette had gotten so mad. Still, he didn't want anyone to be hurt.

Shyly, he peeked into the living room.

"Chrono!" Instantly, Satella grabbed his arm and yanked him in. "Look who finally showed up! The mouse has appeared!"

"Wha- huh-" Before he could say anything, his sight was blocked by a bandana and he was spun around.

"Alright Chrono!" Az cheered. "Just kiss someone!" Good grief. What had he done to deserve this? Carefully, he took a step, his head reeling. Then another. Did he just aim for a random person?

The answer came too quick for comfort, but it was an answer all the same. Calmly, he turned, marched across the room, dodged the chair, sofa and table flawlessly, went behind the column and kissed.

"Uwah! What are the chances!"

"No way! He was facing the opposite way!"

"But she was hiding!"

"I told you he'd find her! I told you he'd find Rosette!" Face burning, he quickly untied the bandana and there, indeed, was a furiously red Rosette. Well, that had been what he was trying to do, but...

Uh oh.

"Chroooooooonooooo." the way her voice was raising with his name could not be good. Nor was the glint in her eyes. A grown man would quake in fear when he saw that look in another man- from Rosette; they'd drop dead...unless she got to them first.

Whack. Bam. Crash. Thump.

Azmaria averted her face. "Do you think he'll be alright?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Just listen to when she-" whack. "Hits him. It's not as vicious as when she hit me." Joshua noted huffily.

"That's because she knew Fi would finish the job." Viede added in with a grin as Rosette emerged, dusting off her hands but still pink cheeked.

"Did you kill him?" Jake asked. Rosette smirked.

"Oh, don't worry. It's nothing to serious. Start the singing competition; I'm going outside for some air."

Well. That had been unexpected; Rosette noted as she dangled her legs from the balcony. She had thought that by hiding, she could avoid the stupid kissing game. It definitely was a stupid kissing game, if ever there was one. Only kids played it, and she'd gone in, laughed, and chuckled as participants kissed the nearest person. No one seemed to have kissed who they liked.

Stupid, stupid Chrono. And what was worse (besides him seeking her out- there was no way he hadn't been, judging by the way he steadfastly avoided every other person in the room) was that everyone seemed to have expected him to do that! What the hell? Why on earth would he? Was basically what she'd said when they'd slyly mentioned that. I'll prove it! I'll hide!

And what had happened? Chrono had found her. Stupid, stupid, stupid Chrono. He'd found her and kissed her...very briefly...on the cheek. That was a cheery note, for if he was trying to get to her lips (if she wanted him too, which she didn't) then he was closer. Of course, since she didn't, that made it worse. Still, she could grant a dieing man his pleasures. If he wanted to seek her out and kiss her-

Had she actually thought like that? Excusing Chrono because...because he was dieing? She'd have to hit him when she saw him next. Dieing wasn't an excuse for anything.

Stupid Chrono.

"I'm getting the impression that I'm being mentally trashed, bashed, slandered and murdered in your head." Rosette jumped, looking around the empty wooden terrace.

"Chrono?" Where was he, the jerk?

"'She speaks:- O speak again, bright angel! For thou art as glorious to this night, being o're my head, as a winged messenger of heaven.'..." The garden! Rosette turned, leaning over the rail and squinting into the shadows.

"Chrono you idiot! Where are you!"

"Right here. You're looking out too far, just look strait down. Hello! Hi! Right below you!" He waved, stepping into the moonlight by the pond.

"Careful! They always say drunken guys shouldn't go near water. They're more likely to fall in." He stooped, then walked away from the water, disappearing for a moment. "Chrono?" Had he gone inside?

"The same is said for small children too, which is pretty much what we're acting like, so let's say its immaturity." A hand whisked by her face, tucking something in her hair. "There. A pretty flower for a pretty girl." Frowning, Rosette plucked the tiny blue flower from her hair, studying it before glancing at the alien who was sitting in the tree. She grabbed her glass and raised it.

"Whoever you are you mind possessing freak, you better let Chrono go before I squish you!" she growled, clenching the glass tighter. "No one takes over the bodies of my friends!"

"Yarg!" The guy who looked-like-Chrono-but-couldn't-be yelped and scrambled to dodge the glass, forgetting he was in the tree and missing his footing.

"I'm not finished yet!" she snarled, leaping into the branches herself. There were several problems with this plan. The first lay in the fact (as she quickly remembered) that she had never climbed up a tree before. The second problem was that it was night time, and what looked like a branch was often a shadow, and what looked like a shadow was often a branch. Whack!

"Aiii!" Rosette squealed, staggering back as she hit her forehead on a very solid branch.

Crack! Unfortunately, the one she was on was not so solid, cracking under her weight before she could move.

"Rosette!"

Wump! Whatever could be said for this Chrono look-alike, he made a good landing pad. "Ow." she sat up, rubbing her head.

"Sassafras! Are you alright? What the pineapple were you thinking?" Sassafras? Pineapple?

No look alike could mimic someone that well.

"Chrono! You're alright!" she grinned, not sure as to why, but it seemed right.

"I'm not sure 'alright' is the term for it." he grumbled, wriggling. "Can I get up now?"

"No." Whack. "Now you can." she said sweetly. Chrono glowered at her.

"Remind me never to catch you again. I only ever seem to get hit on the head." Hmm. Maybe he hadn't really deserved that. Oh well. She grabbed his hand, pulling him up. To her surprise, he put most of his weight on her support, wheezing.

"Chrono?"

"Oh! Sorry!" He jumped back, tripping and landing hard on the bench. Cautiously, she moved to sit next to him.

"You're acting really strangely. You were supposed to be the one staying sober." He turned a flower around in his fingers, studying the small blue blossoms.

"I am sober. I guess I'm just not very good at fooling around." he shrugged, holding up the plant. "Amazing. You hardly ever see these in the fall. Late summer, if your lucky, but rarely now." he handed her a few stalks of the little flowers, the moon showing his hesitant smile as she took them. "These are...well, they're important flowers for Newfoundland. It's the symbol for the Newfoundland regiment, kind of like the Poppy worn on remembrance day, except in Newfoundland, we have a remembrance day on Canada day, in memory of a battle when almost all of the Newfoundland regiment was wiped out. These are also a favourite of sailors." Rosette sniffed the blossoms but got little scent.

"Why are they so important? They don't have a beautiful scent, and they're pretty, but they aren't the most beautiful, not like roses." It was true. The flowers were small, five petaled things, with dozens of the blue stars on a stalk. Chrono plucked another one, laying it on his palm.

"Well," he said quietly; his voice sounding pinched. "They're a very hardy plant, and very good at spreading, because their seed pods stick to everything." he picked a little fuzzy thing off his shirt. "They often appear in gardens, but they come up in sidewalk cracks, and drain pipes, and pretty much anywhere in the spring and summer. Most people consider them weeds, but they're actually one of my favourite flowers."

Chrono set the flower onto the bench and stared determinedly at the pond. "They're called Forget-me-nots."

Rosette gasped, raising her head in time to meet a dark fire in his eyes, one she hadn't seen before. Her stomach seemed to have taken up residence in a washing machine, judging by how it was flopping around.

Chrono tapped her nose, a playful smile changing the light in his eyes. "Mainly though, I just think they're a very pretty flower. They match your eyes, by the way. Good night." he slid to his feet and strolled back to the house, leaving her to her short circuiting thoughts. Numbly, she stumbled back into the house, found the room Jake had put given the girls and dropped onto her bed, sound asleep.

Too early, sunlight found its way through her curtains.

"Rosette! Time to get up!" Chrono. A vein on her forehead, she pulled the blankets over her head. "Oh Rosette!" That sing- song voice was getting very annoying, very quickly. "Rosette! Come on!" She burrowed deeper under the blankets, sticking her head under the pillow. "Okay then." The door clicked shut and she sighed. He was actually letting her sleep in for-

SPLASH.

"Aiii! What the hell? Chrono!" she leapt up, staring at the teen who was standing calmly beside her, an empty glass of water in his out-stretched hand.

"Good morning to you too Rosette!" Whistling cheerfully, he went to leave the room.

"Chroooonoooo!"

Whack.

And thus began another day.

It wasn't such a bad trip, Rosette thought as they screeched along the road back to St. John's and real life. No, she glanced at Chrono who was silently staring out the window. Even he seemed to enjoy himself. Smiling, Rosette thought of the tiny bouquet of blue flowers, safely pressed in her journal and tucked into her bag.

Bop.

"What was THAT for!" Chrono yelped, rubbing yet another swelling on his head. "When you get a boy friend, I might be forced to drive him off with warnings of your fury-ow!"

"You idiot! What was that supposed to mean!" Up in the front seat, Jake and Az grinned at each other while even the two Satellas could agree long enough to laugh at the pair bickering in the back seat. Azmaria reached around to the front seat and gave Jake a poke.

"Thanks for having us." She hissed. He poked her back.

"Anytime. Just tell those two not to take anymore branches off the tree."

"Hey! What's that car in the driveway?" Fi asked as they started up Bradford street. Rosette craned her head, studying the vehicle.

"Looks like a rental car." Chrono noted, squinting. "An expensive one." They drew up beside the house and piled out.

"It's not that expensive Chrono! If someone was to go really expensive-" she stopped, seeing the colour his face had turned.

"It's about time you got here. I've been waiting for hours. Now, may I ask why you aren't in school, Rosette?"

"D-Dad?"

A/N: Weeeellll...that's the end of this chapter! I hope you liked it! I know it was fluffiful, probably too much so, but I really wanted to put Forget-me-nots into the story because they seemed so appropriate, and I know the kissing game was lame, but it was a lame party. I'm not good at writing any of that sort of thing, but hey, practice makes perfect. However, I won't learn how to improve without knowing what I did wrong! If you liked or disliked any part of this chapter, please let me know! It won't take that long, just r&r! Thank you!


	39. A Father and A Broken Glass

A/N: Hello and good morning Fanfic fans (hunh?). It's a lovely morning here in Newfoundland (even despite the fact that everyone in my family, including myself, has the flu) Ah, but the sun rose today and painted the island black and the water a golden blue, making the harbour seem like an alternative universe. It was very cool down there this morning when I went down with Abby, my dog. We were the only ones down there, which is unusual, but again, very cool...sigh. I love the harbour in the mornings! I should go more often.

However, In going to the harbour this morning, I noticed it was an orange sky...not red, but orange. I wonder what that means. Maybe an ordinary day? I don't know, but hey, it was pretty!

Every day's a nice day! N'oublie pas!

Disclaimer: Hi! I don't own Chrono Crusade, but hey, if I did, I wouldn't be writing this. And Chrono wouldn't look as cute and short as he does in the manga. And they wouldn't have died. And the kissing scene in the manga wouldn't be a reflection (Why was that anyway?) Rosette would probably hit Chrono more, and Elder would've been more perverted, (Wait until I write 'Finder' or whatever it will be when I write it.) but hey! That's what fan fiction's for, so I'm happy! One must remain optimistic about these things.

Chapter 39...eek.

"D-Dad?" Rosette took a step back, staring at the grey haired man standing by the car. "What- What are you doing here?" Vincent Christov frowned, fixing his neat black tie.

"I could ask why you are here too, young lady. Aren't you supposed to be in school today? I didn't send you here just so you could sneak off with your little friends." Rosette swallowed, her cheeks flaming.

"I wasn't sneaking off. We have today off school because of an in-service. That happens sometimes."

"And the reason you aren't inside, studying is? Your grades have dropped."

"I-" Yes, her grades had dropped, that was true. On the other hand, she blamed that on Chrono quitting school and taking courses online. With out someone to wake her up in class and give her the notes...well, needless to say, it wasn't working well.

"Excuse me." Rosette blinked as Chrono calmly stepped in front of her. "I'm very sorry for interrupting, sir, but the door is open, if you would prefer to continue your conversation inside." he gave her a quick nod and led them through into the living room, running to get the phone as it rang.

"What sort of place is this?" Rosette flushed as her father glared around the faded room. "This is where they set boarders up?"

"It's not that bad!" It was also relatively clean, compared to what it had been during Chrono's absence. "I mean, It isn't as bad as it looks, father." she corrected herself.

"Can I get you something to drink, Mr. Christov?" Chrono returned and handed her a drink, his face blank. To the further fraying of Rosette's nerves, her father stared at him, narrowing his eyes.

"You, boy. You look familiar."

"You probably saw my picture when flipping through my file for the program, sir. I'm the manager here." Chrono said smoothly. At least one of them was calm. "Would you like a coffee or something?"

"Out of this place? No. So, you're the manager." Vincent raised an eyebrow. "I was expecting someone older. But then," his eyes flitted around the room. "Perhaps that's why the place is a dump." Rosette spat out the mouthful of lemonade she'd just taken. He was her father, he could razz her as much as he wanted, but picking on Chrono-

"I'm afraid I've been ill, Mr. Christov. I'm also very busy." Chrono replied coolly. "I admit I am not proud of the state of my home, but sometimes there are more pressing matters than cleaning." She was the one staring now. He didn't sound like Chrono. Maybe that mind-possessing freak from last night was back.

"Presentation is very important, Mr..."

"D'Crusa."

"D'Crusa." Her father echoed, narrowing his eyes still further. Chrono nodded, his mouth grimly set and his face solemn.

"If you'll excuse me-" he turned and made for the door. He was leaving? No! If he left, she'd have to deal with this alone!

"Chrono wait!" Swiftly, she caught hold of his sleeve and gasped as a rush of terror swept over her. Yet again, she was falling. Before she could be swallowed though, Chrono jerked his sleeve free.

"Yes?" he choked, meeting her eyes. Rosette floundered, her eyes huge. How could he stand there, so calmly, when she'd just felt what was running through him? She'd felt like she wanted to pass out just by brushing his feelings. Had she had that running around in her head, she doubted she'd be able to string a coherent thought together, let alone act like nothing was wrong.

"I- um, would you-" Did she ask him to stay? Now that she looked, his hands were trembling and he was fighting the urge to bite his lip or bolt. Still, he was doing better than her.

"_Chrono?_ Did you say Rosette?" She nearly swore, seeing her friend stiffen. Damn. If she hadn't called out-

"Yes, my name is Chrono D'Crusa, Mr. Christov." His voice had lost some of its edge, sounding hard but close to breaking.

"Chrono...D'Crusa." Vincent stood and circled around Chrono, his eyes dark, unreadable. Chrono straitened his back.

"Yes. Chrono D'Crusa is the name I go by now." he said, his voice soft but haughty.

"Castov." Chrono flinched, but he returned the glare.

"Yes. You knew me as Chrono Castov, or project 23-34-5." Rosette shivered, hearing an ice in Chrono's words. The lab was not somewhere he wanted to think about, she knew that.

Why had she wanted him to stay?

"23-34-5. My my my, you've grown quite a lot since the last time I saw you. Should I ask why you've changed your name?"

"I'm estranged. Now if you'll excuse me-" Rosette's hands went to hide her mouth as her father caught Chrono's arm, leaving panic to run briefly across the former test subject's face.

"Do sit down, Mr. D'Crusa. I always wondered what happened to you. After all. I never finished my work with you, you know. I was told to wait, and then, some one took you away. A pity, I assure you." Chrono pulled free and sat down in the chair across from Rosette, avoiding her eyes. She was only too happy to avoid his.

What if her father took him back?

Would her father be able to do that? She didn't think so, but her father never gave up when he wanted something. She didn't want to think of what he'd do to Chrono once he got his hands on him- or worse, his machines on him.

"So, 23-34-5. You've been estranged? May I ask why?"

"My name is Chrono, Mr. Castov." Chrono sat up, raising his head and glaring at him. "I was estranged because of my differences. I'm also somewhat of the black sheep of the family, if rumours were to true."

"Ah yes." Vincent tapped his lip, his eyes fixed on Chrono. She had to draw the attention away from Chrono, fast! Rosette looked around, trying to find something, anything- "The second son of the ever famous Castovs, little brother to the magnificent Aion and womanizer extraordinaire. How many son and daughters have you sired, 23-34-5? All tainted with your blood?"

"You didn't think my blood was tainted when you spilled it on the floor."

"No, you, Mr. D'Crusa were always an interesting test subject, but I never thought you would actually remember. After all, you were awfully young." Young? A mere child, you rat! Rosette tossed the mental insult at her father. How could he talk so carelessly about it? Like Chrono was some sort of lab rat?

"You were studying me with a purpose, sir. Part of that was brought on by my memory. Thus, I don't think it's surprising."

"Mmm. Interesting. Perhaps you might...stop by again, sometime-" Rosette didn't have to look to know Chrono's face had just turned white.

CRASH!

The glass narrowly missed her father's head.

"Sorry!" she snarled. "I slipped. Now then, didn't you come here to get on my case about my marks!" She'd rather that! She'd rather him go on for hours about how awful her marks were rather than having him pick Chrono's overloaded brain to pieces!"

"Really, Rosette. I'm not sure sending you here was such a good idea. That was most unladylike." Had she ever been lady-like? She couldn't remember, but if she had, she doubted it was as much fun as having belching contests with the guys and watching the disgust on Ms. Harvenhiet's face! "I might have to think about bringing you home. We wouldn't want any shame brought onto our family now, would we?" he said, glancing at Chrono.

"She will be fine, sir." Chrono responded from the other side of the room where he was cleaning up the broken glass. "Now, I really-"

"Must stay. Now Rosette, about your marks." Why did Chrono have to stay? "When you left your private tutor," Vincent pulled out a sheet of paper, glancing over the figures. "Your average was an 80. Low, but not too bad. For your first month, your average was an 81. Slowly rising and getting better.

"Now, Rosette, it's a 72. Care to tell me what happened?" Rosette blushed. What could she say? Without Chrono to decipher what the teachers were saying and to wake her up in class, well...her marks were bound to drop.

"Well, I- I was getting help from another student, because I was having trouble understanding what the teachers were saying. He never would tell me the answers," she tried hard not to glare at that student. "but he would help with my notes if I missed any."

"And the reason he's not helping you now?" What was she going to say to that one?

"Is because, due to family difficulties, he had to drop out of my school, which was a shame, because he was incredibly smart."

"Mmm. Well, that is a shame. But it's an even worse shame that such a thing would cause your marks to drop. Tell me." her father looked thoughtful. "If said student was able to return to school, would your marks go up?" Rosette swallowed, failing to keep her eyes from flitting to Chrono.

"It...it might," she squeaked. "He had a way of making things clear, you see, without telling the answer. He would make a good teacher." Chrono was fiddling with the broken glass, trying to keep it wrapped in a tissue.

"And he dropped out of school to"

"Work. He needed money for his family."

"I see." Vincent's eyes paused on Chrono and Rosette noticed that the tips of Chrono's ears were turning pink. "Perhaps an anonymous donation would help your marks go up. However," her father frowned at her. "Until then, do try and study, Rosette. Good day, 23-34-5. I'll speak to you again." Setting his hat on his head, Vincent Christov swept from the house leaving the two very rattled teens in his wake.

Before Rosette could say anything, Chrono scampered from the room, stumbling into the kitchen.

"Chrono!" Rosette followed, standing in the doorway as she watched him dump the glass in the garbage, resting his forehead against the cupboard as he took audibly deep breaths. After a moment, he turned, still leaning on the counter, holding the edge so tightly his knuckles had gone white- kind of like when they were driving to a mission- "Wrong life, Rosette. Anyway. The others have all gone out." he sighed, his eyes trailing to the phone.

"Who was on the phone earlier, anyway?" Chrono winched.

"Eddie Tanner, my boss." His boss? Quickly, she glanced at the clock. Prologue would've opened a half hour ago.

"Wait a minute! Don't you have work toda-" he shook his head before she finished, and Rosette's heart chilled. "But you said yesterday-"

"Yeah, well, that was yesterday. Today, I'm laid off. Let's go." He strode past her, catching her hand and pulling her along behind him to the front door. "I have until 6 to get back for the kids. You aren't working today?" Rosette shook her head. Was this Chrono? She was beginning to worry. All that stress- Chrono squeezed her hand, sending warm sparks up it. "Go get changed. We need to wind down for a bit, neither of us are in good shape, despite how we're trying to act."

A/N: I was going to continue on with the next part of this, but I think I'll stop here, since this is the nearest part break I'll get. Also, since I'm having trouble with this chapter, it's less to rewrite while I'm editing, so that's ok. Anyways, Snekochan would like to send out a special thank-you to Mr. C. If you've made it this far, I'm very impressed with your patience for putting up with an overly energetic, very strange, hyper-clarinettist-kitty cat student. Sneko says thank you very, very much! Well, I guess that's all for this chapter...poor Chrono! As if he doesn't have enough problems...but next chapter...what's Chrono planning to do?


	40. A Bit of Fun

A/N: Hi guy, Sneko here, sniffling away...there's a flu going around, so pretty much everyone's got it...ah well. I'm having trouble thinking, but I'll try and write a good chapter anyway, 'k? Right then. I don't know what everyone thought of the last chapter, but I'm going to start this one now, regardless. Still, I hope you liked it. As for this chapter...well...

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade...at the moment, I can barely spell it!

Chapter...AYAH! I JUST REALIZED! THIS IS CHAPTER 40! (Sneko-chan falls over)

Rosette stood in front of her mirror, trying to decide whether to leave her hair in the ponytail she'd put it in or whether to let it down. It had been awhile since she'd worried about how she looked.

She was worried? Quickly, Rosette shook her head. She couldn't be worried. It wasn't like she'd been asked out or anything. Both she and Chrono had had bad days, and bad days needed wind down time. It would help though, she thought crossly, if Chrono had said where they were going. There was a knock on her door.

"Rosette? We really should be going soon if we plan to get the bus." Bus? Right then. Where were they going, anyway? Grabbing her backpack, she gave herself one last look in the mirror, tugged her jeans up and dropped a necklace over her head before stepping into the hall, hoping that her tight blue jeans, black dragon tee-shirt were enough. Nibbling on her lip, she went downstairs, hoping she wouldn't find Chrono in a suit or something. Lucky for her, he wasn't.

He was leaning against the doorframe, dressed in a pair of black cargo pants and a dark blue-green hoodie, his eyes shadowed under the brim of his navy baseball cap. "Ready?" he asked, setting his hat back further on his head as she froze at the foot of the stairs. "You look pretty. What's wrong?" He looked...normal. Chrono D'Crusa actually looked... normal. Gulping, she rolled her eyes. Her heart wasn't beating faster, it wasn't. She wasn't blushing.

"You put your hair in a ponytail." she snapped, striding across the front hall and reach around him -he was so tall!- and loosing his hair from the elastic he'd captured it in. Scowling, she ran her fingers through it, trying to ignore how smooth it was as she settled it around his shoulders. "That's better." She bent and picked up her shoes, flicking her stubby braid back over her shoulder.

"What, have we switched roles here?" Chrono held open the door for her then locked up behind them. "We better hurry or we'll miss the bus." He caught her hand and pulled her down the street.

"Aren't you in a hurry? You aren't normally so-"

"I need to get out of the house. Aug! The bus!" Chrono's fingers tightened around her hand as he sprinted down the hill, dragging her with him until they stumbled onto the bus, grinning sheepishly at the frowning driver. As they made their way to the back, Rosette tugged on his ear.

"What's the big deal! You're so-" Chrono dropped into a seat, his cheerful demur gone, replaced with exhaustion.

"I'm sorry." he said quietly, staring out the window as they trundled along the street, splashing through puddles and passing shedding trees. "I...I had to..." he shut his eyes. "I shouldn't have dragged you along, I was just going to go myself, but you seemed just as shaken as I was-" Shaken?

"I didn't know you were so scared 'til I touched you." Rosette leaned back, her shoulder brushing his. "I thought you were...I don't know." she laughed. "You seemed so cold." Chrono smiled tersely, flicking at his fingernails.

"I...I was trying not to be but..." he lowered his eyes, chewing on his lip. "I- I don't really want to think about there and- I couldn't help it. I hoped he wouldn't recognise me, because then he might needle, and-" he took a shuddering breath, clenching his fists. "You don't need to know." Rosette smiled at an old woman who was watching them before slipping her hands around Chrono's arm and resting her cheek on his shoulder, feeling the tremors that still nagged at him.

"Chrono D'Crusa, you are an idiot, you know that?" She closed her eyes, feeling his terror, his worries, his emotions rushing through her. It wasn't nearly as strong as it was after he had a vision, but it was still there. A connection, winding between fears and doubts, stubborn denial and something soft, shy, half afraid to be there, half smothered hopes. "You really are."

"You're stubborn."

"Stubborn!" Rosette shrieked, leaping back before hitting him over the head.

"Yup." Chrono grinned. "Very, very stubborn. Or perhaps just bull headed!" He winched as a second bump added itself to the first.

"And you! You're twice as stubborn as I am!" How dare he call her stubborn! Rosette hit him a third time for good measure as they got off the bus. "And you're-" she paused. They were at the mall. "What are we doing here?" Chrono shrugged.

"I don't know. Fooling around for a few hours?" She trailed after him as they crossed the parking lot and entered the teeming mall. The second they were inside, Rosette spotted a sale at Raredays and hauled Chrono over to look.

"Chrono! These are twenty present off! Plus, with my membership card, they're another ten present off, making them thirty present off! Ooh! Those shoes are on sale too!" Rosette fingered a pair of black sneakers, glancing over at Chrono as he looked at jeans. Apparently curious, he looked at the tag, his eyes going huge; he put them back very quickly. Giggling, Rosette replaced the sneakers and moved on to tee-shirts, keeping an eye on him the whole time as he avoided the jeans and started looking at a sale-tagged table of shirts. It was fun to watch him, but it was hard too. It wasn't as if everything here was expensive- or, it wouldn't be if she was on the same allowance she was on when she was back with her parents. Her parents...

She'd be returning to them during Christmas holidays. Rosette hung up a short jacket, twisting her bang around her finger. What would she say to her parents when she went home? How could she speak to her father after what he said to Chrono? How had she spoken to him, knowing what he'd done?

"This would look nice on you." Chrono held up a deep blue tee-shirt that said 'Good Things Come to Those Who Wait But Running Gets You to Them Faster'.

"Is that a comment?" Rosette mock-scowled. "Besides, I was looking at this one." She stood in front of the mirror, studying the tee-shirt that said 'Mr. Stupid is Standing Beside Me'.

"Is that a comment?" Smiling, Chrono came up behind her and held up a green tee-shirt. "Personally, I think this one suits you best." Rosette squinted at the numbers in the mirror until she gave up and took it from him, reading the 20 carelessness, 30 drop-dead gorgeous and 50 Bull headedness Danger level 100 sign on the front and whacking him over the head.

"You jerk!" She dropped the shirt and chased him around the store, gaining them not a few strange looks.

"They left off violent-yow." he dove beneath a table. "And fool hardy!" The shoe narrowly missed, stupid thing. "And subjectable to mood swings!" Damn! She'd lost track of the weasel...arms caught her from behind. "They also forgot to mentioned that you can't have Rosette without all those things. Now let's go before we're kicked out."

"Something's going to be kicked out alright Mr. Stupid, but it isn't us!" she growled as they left the store and moved on down the busy hall.

"Yeah, yeah. You know, you shouldn't be too hard on your folks." Rosette looked at him in surprise, but he was staring at a poster for a movie. "They...well..." Sighing, Chrono pushed his bangs behind his ears. "Your father never did anything to you, and you had nothing to do with his operations. I...what I'm trying to say, is even though he mistreated me, I'm different. Lot's of people treated me different, badly if you like. It comes with the territory. You have a family that wants you to do well, Rosette." He nudged at the ground. "They love you, and you shouldn't turn them away, just because of what they did to me."

"But what they did was wrong! They hurt you! You could've died!" He was being stupid again! Chrono sighed, rubbing absently at the amplifier.

"Yeah, well, my family put me there in the first place. Rosette, he wouldn't've taken me if I wasn't offered, and I can't help being what I am. What's important is, your family cares for you. Knowing you have a family and are not welcome in it..." Chrono shrugged. "You're lucky. Anyway, any of these you want to see?" He nodded to the posters. "There's a couple on." Rosette glanced at the posters briefly and gestured at one before they lined up to by the tickets.

"You sound as if you're saying what my father did to you was alright." Chrono shuddered.

"It- It wasn't alright, Rosette, but you can't change what happened in the past. Oh, um, two please!" Handing her her ticket, they walked over to the concession stands and stood waiting to buy popcorn, avoiding the line ups filled with screaming pre-schoolers and impatient parents. Rosette crossed her arms.

"I don't get you." Why was he so willing to forgive her parents!

"Well, I suppose that if they weren't around, neither would you, but aside from that, well, it's all over now, with that sort of thing.

"He wanted to get you back. In the labs, I mean." Rosette stared up at him, meeting his eyes and seeing the darkness that was there.

"I know." he chewed on the straw of his drink as they wandered their way into the theatre and sat down. "I won't go back, Rosette. I refuse to go through that again. If I do go back..." Chrono dipped his head. "I won't come back out again, however, I'm beside the point." Beside the point? Rosette watched the light from the screen flicker over his face. How could he be 'beside the point'? She'd never live with herself if his life was cut short by her own father! On the screen, an actress laughed, chatting with the hero as they walked down a street. If only life were so simple!

Rosette reached for a handful of popcorn just as Chrono reached for the same thing, causing their hands to bump.

"Sorry!" They hissed, blushing. Munching on a kernel, Rosette turned her head. Chrono was staring at the ceiling, ignoring the noisy kissing scene happening between the actress and the hero's brother.

_Why does it have to be like this?_ Rosette jolted, glancing away than back again. _Maybe if things were different...no, things were different. We've waited to long! If we'd taken the chances we had before, and not let the situation tie us down, maybe it would've- aug!_ He caught her eyes and turned red, busying himself with his drink.

"Are you going to let the situation guide you again?" she whispered.

He refused to look at her.

Stupid, stupid Chrono! Fuming, she glowered at the movie, watching the hero, Benny-something-or-other, chase down his brother who'd kidnapped the bride while meanwhile, the bride was trying to kill the brother-of Benny-something-or-other for supposedly killing Benny... Sighing, Rosette downed the rest of her drink, muttering as she finished it. "Stupid drink." she muttered, putting it back in the holder. Chrono chuckled.

"Here." he handed her his drink and she started gulping that down too. " Look at what movie you're picking next time, hmm? Better yet, next time is my pick."

Next time? Rosette's head snapped up and she looked at him, but he'd gone back to watching the movie, resting his chin on the heel of his hand, his eyes half lowered. He had really long eyelashes, she noted. If he kissed her on the lips, would they tickle across her cheeks? Rosette leaned forward slightly, studying his profile until he shifted position and his hair blocked her view. Mentally cursing her stupidity for making him leave it down, she tried to continue watching the movie.

"Excuse me!" A girl about her age squeezed along in front of her, dragging a guy along behind her. "Sorry!" When they'd passed, Rosette shifted her legs back into the narrow aisle stiffening as her knee rested against his, but he didn't move away. Smiling, Rosette relaxed.

Some things were better left unquestioned.

"I'll be back in a minute." Rosette scurried to the washroom, leaving Chrono in the crowd of people gushing from the theatre. Maybe she shouldn't have drank both their drinks. She paused on the way, looking at a mirror and running a brush through her hair, hoping that Chrono didn't ask what her favourite part of the movie was- she would probably say something stupid like: 'When you reached for the popcorn and grabbed my arm instead!'. That'd been funny, especially seeing him blush and drop her hand. She splashed cold water on her face, hoping it would snap her out of the warm fuzzies that seemed to have taken her over after the movie. Maybe she was getting a fever. "Chrono?" she stepped out into the lobby, but there was no sign of him. "Chrono? Excuse me!" She caught a green-clad cashier. "Have seen a guy with shoulder length purple hair-"

"Ooh! You mean the hottie with, like, the great ass and two coloured eyes?" the cashier chirped, bobbing her pink-haired head. "Yeah, he went over that way." Rosette thanked her and headed in the direction, over towards the Marcade.

The Marcade was blocked with people playing the different games, some playing air hockey, others pinball or just milling around watching other people play. Across the room, music started and a group had gathered around people playing some sort of game.

"Whoo! Look at that kid go!" Curious, Rosette pushed her way over to the crowd but was only able to come up behind a pair of girls dressed in black mini skirt, tight black tops and heavy black boots. "She's beating the socks of that guy! How old d'ya think she is?" The first one, a dyed-blond jumped up and down, trying to see. The second grabbed her hand.

"Yah, she's winning, but I'd say he's letting her. Look at his feet. He keeps moving to the right place then changing so he hits the wrong. The dude's fighting instinct Lana." The crowd parted slightly as someone did something particularly interesting on the dance pad, chanting the words of the song, and Rosette caught sight of a panting child, bouncing from step to step alongside Chrono. As the first girl had said, Chrono was losing, but the crowd didn't seem to mind, caught between jeering at him but mostly cheering the girl on, groaning when she tripped and laughing when Chrono caught her, tapping her missed step so she could continue without losing points. Grinning, Rosette clapped with the rest as the dances continued playing.

"Angel." She looked at the woman standing beside her. Clutching a small jacket, she had her eyes glued to the little girl, tears trickling down her cheeks.

"Is something wrong, ma'am?" Rosette asked. The woman jumped, wiping her eyes.

"Oh, Sorry dear, am I in your way? I was just watching them. The girl's my daughter." the woman gulped again, tucking her scraggly brown hair behind her ears. "Oh Alicia."

"Oh, don't worry, Chrono won't hurt her." Rosette patted her arms. "He's good with kids." The crowd cheered, belting out the final chorus of the song until Alicia was declared the winner and ran to hug her mother, Chrono's hat dropping over her eyes. Laughing, Rosette turned back.

"Hey Chrono!" she called, cupping her hands around her mouth. "You lost to a five year old! Just wait 'til Kino, Marie, Tawny, Kye, Ben and Nina find out you're such a lousy dancer!" Chrono grinned, hopping down.

"Yeah sure Miss Christov. You think you could do better?" He put his hands on his hips, crooking an eyebrow.

"Than you? Easily!" Rosette matched his stance, glaring up at him.

"Very well then." Chrono slung his hoodie around his waist and hauled her up onto the stamp pad. "We'll have to see about that, won't we." The crowd, eager for another show, surged up; cheering as Chrono selected a fast piece.  
"Hey Chrono! How'd you lose at something so easy!" Rosette panted. Left, left 1,2...left RIGHT. Left, front, back wait 1, 2...crap! she missed one!

"Oh, I dunno." Chrono smiled cheerfully, looking at her and hitting his steps. "I always like these sort of games, but I don't normally have a dancing partner. You're doing good." It wasn't so hard, Rosette found, once you got into the beat and stayed with it. No, she started catching up in points...until the music got faster.

"What the hell!" Rosette squealed, franticly stomping. Left, right, frontfrontleftleftleft rightrightbackfront...she scrambled from one square to the next.

"Come on Rosette, it's not that hard!" Chrono grabbed her hand. "Watch the screen and don't think! Do what the arrows say." Easy for him to say! She fumed, but she turned her focus to the screen moved, cheering with the rest when the song ended and Chrono beat her by three points.

"All get you next time!" she warned him as they left, seating themselves at the Third Mug.

"Yeah, sure Rosy-girl." Chrono laughed, dropping onto the chair across from her and chomping on an oatcake. They ate in silence for a moment before Rosette put hers down.

"I'm impressed you let the kid win in front of all those people. You must've been embarrassed." Chrono twisted his bang around his finger, his eyes darkening.

"She..."he shut his eyes. "She's a very ill child. Her aura was black." He turned the mug in his hands. "I saw her watching some kids dancing and I could tell she wanted too, but no one would dance with her, so I asked if she wanted too. I..." he watched a couple skip through the hall. "She probably won't live to be more than seven. Her dream was to be a dancer. That was as close as she could get." she wanted to cry. There were so many people, so many, just like Chrono, who would never get to see their dreams because their lives were too short. Why? And yet, would she be able to dance with the child, without looking at her with pity and simply see her as a person and not someone helpless?

"You're a nice guy, you do know that right, Chrono?" He blinked at her and shrugged.

"Not really, but thanks for saying it. You're the one of us who's really nice. When you're not attacking me."

"What?" Rosette shrieked, chasing him from the cafe. "What did you say!" The little rat! "when I'm not attacking you? Well then, take this! And this!" she bellowed, flinging whatever came to hand at him. "Chrooooonnooooo!" She would kill him! Kill him!

A/N: And there you are! Another chapter of New Time, New Place. I know there wasn't a lot of fluff, if any, but it was just a bit of fun and I hope you enjoyed it BUT either way, R&R! Please! It's a longer chapter than normal, so please don't expect this length frequently. It just happened that I had extra time to write this because it fell on the weekends when I can write a bit more.


	41. Costumes

A/N: Hello! Well, it's about time I started working on this story in earnest, i.e. with plot. I was sick and couldn't really think, so I decided to do some fluff...plus, I felt like it, so there! Nyaaaa! Ha-ha! I'm being silly this morning! Anyways, this chapter is dedicated to all of you who wondered where Grey and Golden (and the plot) had gone, so Olynara Sedai, this one's for you...hmmm. Maybe I'll start dedicating chapters to people more often...but then I'd have to choose...well, we'll see, won't we! - Unless I finish the story this chapter... oh wait, that's not likely.

Disclaimer: Nope nope nope, I don't own Chrono Crusade, or St. John's, but that's ok. What would I dream of if I did?

Chapter 41 (Still can't believe this! It was supposed to be short!)

_He was insane. That was the only thing Grey could get from his muddled head as he poked his it into the wide stone room. Absolutely insane. There were millions of reasons he shouldn't be doing this! Millions! Like..."If you don't do something about it, than I will." Damn! Golden's words still rang in his ears. Probably because it was true. He wasn't doing anything about it, but that was because Superior...he should've known she wouldn't take that. _

_Golden never had respected the second angel. So now, because of that, he was caught in the middle, between **him** and Golden. Swallowing, Grey squeezed through the narrow doorway and looked about. It was a huge bedchamber, he knew from being in here before, but besides that, in the next room was what he was looking for..._

_The stairs to Earth, the mortal realm._

_"Jes? That you?" _

"Austy, are you here yet?" Chrono stepped into the teeming club and tackled by a green haired waitress.

"Chrono! Ooh! It's been ages since I've seen you! And you're still talkin' so proper you little goose! So what's the deal? You're in early, chick!" Tina hugged him again before stepping back. About five years older than him, she'd been working at Austy's about as long as he had- exactly as long actually- they'd started the same day. "Anyways, you look a bit better. Less like a raccoon anyway- but your hair!" She picked up a handful of his ponytail and dropped it. "Chrono, you cut your hair!" he rolled his eyes. Why were people getting so uptight about that?

"Yes Tina, I cut it. Is Austy in?" Tina nodded.

"Yes he is, chicky, but he's pretty upset. We're short staffed during the days now, since Termy left." Chrono winched.

"He's in the office?"

"Are you nuts? You know he's a -"

"I'm open during the days." he called over his shoulder, but Tina had moved on to the next customer. "Austy?" Carefully, he peeked around the corner.

"What? Tina, I'm- Oh, Chrono!" Austy dropped the phone onto the desk, whipping around. "How are you feeling?" Catching the chair Austy kicked over, Chrono pulled off the pile of papers and sat down.

"Fine, fine, except..."

"Except?"

"I got fired." Chrono bit his lip. He depended on this. If Austy couldn't give him more hours, he'd have to find another part time job, and that wouldn't be easy. Austy sighed, leaning on the desk.

"You're having a rough go of it there, pup." the man swept his greying hair from his round face, tossing a paper airplane into the trash. "I do have a spot open, but you'd have to be willing to play. Music that is." Chrono stiffened. He'd known Termel had played the daytime music, and that Austy hadn't filled in the slot, but he hadn't thought it would mean he had to play. Stupid not to think of it but...

"I'll be fine."

"You'll play?" Chrono nodded and Austy bopped his shoulder.

"Atta boy Chrono! Kick this thing in the face! Now then, about your hours..."

"Good morning Rosette!" Chrono ducked, avoiding the flying pillows and books. Who knew she'd have so many of the latter, he marvelled as they continued sailing over his head.

"Uncle Chrooooonoooo!" The panicked scream rang out from the kitchen followed by as rather large crash.

"Coming!" He jumped up- right into to the path of an oncoming book. "Ow! Rosette, get up!" Rubbing his head, he grabbed the blankets and pulled them off. "Rosette g-" she was wearing a white frilly night gown. And lacy pink panties. Chrono froze, his cheeks reddening while his brain registered the fact that he was- about to face certain death if Rosette-

"You pervert!" Chrono fled, not even bothering trying to justify himself. "Chrooooonoooooo!" He had to send someone else in to wake her up in the mornings before he ended up getting killed; he really did but…

Whack.

Rosette tucked the strands of her bangs back behind her ears, watching him tumble down the stairs. She almost felt sorry for him...she grinned. It wouldn't really be a normal day if Chrono didn't wake her up. She'd have too much pent up energy! Still...

"You aren't hurt, are you?" She yelled, leaning over the banister.

"No."

"Uncle Chrooooonoooooo!"

"Coming!" _It's just a normal morning_! Rosette hummed, riffling through her closet to find something to wear. _A wonderful demon-free morning! _Now, what did she have today at school...she was actually up in enough time to dress for whatever the weather was doing, or whatever the school was doing...It was Tuesday, day eight at school, October 31...

"It's Halloween!" Tossing on the nearest tee-shirt and pair of jeans, she bounded through the hall and down the stairs. Halloween! Halloween! That meant candy, candy, candy! Still squealing, she burst into the kitchen and tripped over a giant plate.

"Ow!" Kino shot her a disgruntled look as he clambered to his feet. "Aunt Roseette!" Rosette wrinkled her nose.

"Ug! You sound just like Chrono. I hope you aren't a pervert too. Dressing up are we?" she looked around the kitchen, spying the costumes spread across the kids. "What are you supposed to be?"

"I'm Sailor Plate!" Kino announced, leaping up onto the table. "**In the name of the spoon**-" he pointed to Nina. "**I will dish out punishment to all who don't eat their veggies**!" Rosette raised her eyebrows as the plate chased after a small panicked vampire.

"Waaah! I can't help not liking veggies! I can't be a vegetarian! Us Vampires live on blood! Auug! What'm I s'posed to eat? Yaaag!" Ben ducked behind a princess. "Tomato juice?" Kino the plate cackled, lunging again.

"You fool! Tomatoes are fruit!"

"**I'll turn you both into mashed potatoes if you don't stop!**" the two younger brothers froze as Princess Marie glowered at them, swatting at her plain green dress. "And I'm Princess Drab, Mabb's cousin." she snapped, casting a cold look at Rosette.

"Beware of the pie-d piper, Rosette!" Kye grinned, waltzing by and waving a pair of apple pies about under her nose. Her stomach growled and she took a step after him, freezing as a warm hand caught her shoulder.

"He's right. You should be careful. Hungary lass' have be known to follow him and never return." Chrono hissed, making his voice low and dark. Rosette laughed.

"I can tell you had fun with this. Where the heck did you get the costumes?" she asked as Tawny prowled past, her face lined with a cheetah's stripes and spots that bled into her hair -which had been died a golden brown- and smeared into a beautiful long legged (and tailed) spotted pants suit, complete with a jacket and inner shirt that matched. Chrono grinned, stretching.

"I had them work out plans then I borrowed Ms. Harvenhiet's sewing machine- mine broke some few months ago."  
"Yes, and you're going to put me out of business, you imp!" Ms. Harvenhiet complained, smiling as she clacked in wearing her typical outfit and heels. "Although I must say, you're more adapt at sewing now than you used to be." Chrono's golden eye flared slightly as he laughed.

"Yeah, well, Rosette would never let me do it- she insisted she could. Thus I had some very strange repairs- ow!" Chrono pouted. "Hello! I was talking about the-"

"Other Rosette, yes I know." she narrowed her eyes. "But as her reincarnation, I can't have you say bad things about her so ha!" she hit him again. "And it served you right! How many crooked bandages did I have to put up with!"

"I got better at it, didn't I? But you needed bandages more often then I needed my clothes fixed!"

"Oh yeah! What about that time on the way to San Francisco? With the pig? Or the time when-" Ms. Harvenhiet stepped back, letting the duo argue. It had been so long...

"Are you alright, Ms. Harvenhiet?" The red haired woman glanced down at Nina's worried face and ruffled the child's hair.

"Yes, Nina, I'm fine."

"**Anyway**," Chrono raised his head from the now heated argument, "You guys need to have your stuff ready for school. And you're spending the night at Uncle Ewan's, so go strait there after school."

"Yup!" Kino called, waving from the door. "See yaaa!"

"Bye Uncle Chrono!" Tawny said, pecking him on the cheek before flouncing out.

"Later." Marie growled.

"G'bye Uncle Chrono, Aunt Rosette!"

Rosette winched as the last of the group was out the door. "Wow, it's silent. Anyway, I'll see you two later, I have rehearsal this morning."

"Alright then. Oh, Rosette!" Chrono caught her arm. "I won't be home tonight, so could you check in and make sure the kids get home alright? I know you have work, but I'm going to be working so-"

"No problem." Rosette shrugged, shutting the door behind her as Ms. Harvenhiet turned to Chrono. At least he'd gotten a job, hopefully one he liked.

"Alright!" Rosette looked up from her conversation with Joshua, Fi and Roy as Aion swooped in, Ms. Harvenhiet at his heels. "Good morning, and I hope you all enjoyed your long weekend- and since it isn't all that long until we perform the play, you won't be having anymore without having a practice somewhere in there! Now then, Ms. Harvenhiet is here because today we'll be trying on the costumes and seeing how they need adjusting, because it's one thing to be able to say your lines, it's another entirely to act them and yet a completely different thing again to act in them in costume!" He was so over dramatic about everything. Must come from being a news castor. "Now, if you would all line up, Ms. Harvenhiet will take you in one at a time."

"It's very fitting that we'll be trying on costumes today." Rosette turned to the soft voice beside her and found herself staring at Sammy, the girl who was playing Shader. Sammy blushed, fixing her glasses. "Well, it is! It's Halloween!" Rosette smiled, nodding her agreement. Sammy was a shy girl with a quiet voice...until she got onto the stage. Then she was a regular ball of energy. Very, very strange. "Hey Rosette?"

"Uhhuh?" Azmaria pranced out of the changing room wearing a soft pink dress and matching hat.

"I..." Sammy's eyes wandered over to the back of the stage. "You know the guy who comes in to work on the sound equipment sometimes?" Rosette glanced over at the curtained off area.

"Yes, well, I know one. Purple hair?"

"Y-yeah, that's the one." Sammy blushed.

"Rosette, you're next!"

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" What was with Sammy? Rosette cast her a confused glance, ducking through the door into the change room and tripping over a pile of clothing.

"My oh my. Clumsy as ever. Fitting as you're playing a girl from the sticks." Ms. Harvenhiet smirked.

"Aw can it! Your costumes suck! I bet Chrono could do better." The two some glared at each other until the older woman threw Rosette a habit.

"Try that on." Still scowling, Rosette tugged the habit over her head, struggling with the zipper in the back.

"Oh hold still will you!" Tossing her red hair over her shoulder, Ms. Harvenhiet did up the zipper in the back. "You're useless! I can see why you always needed Chrono's help back then!"

"Shut up old lady!" Rosette stepped up to the mirror, frowning at her reflection, noticing -to her great surprise- that for wearing a habit, she didn't look half-bad. "It sucks." It didn't really but Ms. H didn't have to know that!

"You really do look like her." she glanced back as Ms. Harvenhiet fiddled with a seam. "An awful lot like her. And Chrono looks almost like he used to- I was used to his younger form or his older one. Because he didn't grow, I never got to see him in between." she cut a thread. "You two were so close..."

"He should've gotten the lead role."

"He was going to, when with Aion casting official roles. The teacher's votes were with him, except Maloney's. Maloney paid Aion off."

"What!" Rosette turned quickly and succeeded in getting herself poked with a needle. "Ow!"

Whack!

Fuming, she stalked out of the room and back out onto the stage. Brad had gotten the role by his father bribing Aion? The rat! The big, fat, talent-less rat!

"Hey Rosette!" Speak of the devil (or rat...) "What do you think? My costume and all the demon ones were real hard to make, but what d'ya think? Sexy, mm?" Rosette rolled her eyes.

"Whatever Brad."

Why did nothing ever go Chrono's way? Did God have a grudge against him or something? Oh yeah, he had a demon soul; but that wasn't his fault!

Aion clapped his hands. "Ok, People! Tomorrow, bring your costumes, and don't forget, we'll be working on the set next week after school because we seem to have some problems with it-" he glowered at a cowering pair of set designers. "So bring help if possible."

"What do you mean we have to stay after school!"

"We already have to come before school for practice!"

"Help? Who're we supposed to bring for help?"

"Set design? That's not are part of-" Aion held up his hands.

"Look, I know you don't like it, but we're running out of time! There are people-" he glared at Brad and Joshua. "Who can't seem to remember their lines. And there's people," he glared at Satella. "Who keep making over dramatic motions. We don't want to over act, Ms. Harvey. There are people who aren't singing on cue, who can't paint a strait line, etc, etc, etc, AND IT WON'T DO! We want this play to be the best it can be, and we won't get that by slacking! Remember how many people could potentially see this! Do you want to go down in history as Aion Castov's biggest failure and lose all possible chances of getting jobs in the acting field? One wrong move can butt you out of line!" The urge to role her eyes was growing greater with every word that fell from the man's mouth. He was ranting at them.

Obviously, the younger brother was the more patient of the pair, unless he lost his temper.

Finally, twenty minutes later, they were finally allowed to leave, gushing towards the cafeteria in hopes of finding something remotely edible. Rosette missed the days when Chrono had had time to make lunches as she watched the others get the goop from the cafeteria ladies. Still, anything would've been good...unfortunately, she'd forgotten her money, yet again!

"Hey Rosette!" Azmaria bounded over. "You forgot this this morning, so Chrono dropped it off." Rosette grabbed the lunch from Azmaria, her stomach growling in relief. Thank god for Chrono! She thought happily, plopping down in her seat. It took her a moment to realize the irony of the thought. See? She mentally snapped at the Good One. He's a really nice guy. It doesn't matter if he's a demon!

Where did demons come from, anyway? In Not So Good, Not So Evil, they were supposedly descended from some sort of alien, but...there seemed to be more to it then that, at least to her. It was like they were a group...well, she had no idea!

"Ok, so ymx+b, then...I don't get this!" Rosette dropped her head to the kitchen table, trying to figure out the stupid formula. Where did she have to plug the 22 into again? It was so confusing! Where was Chrono when you needed him? At work, of course, just like she had been right after school. She was soooo tired, and it was soooo hard to think on an empty stomach... "Oh...sassafras!" she grinned. There was definitely a reason saying sassafras worked- how could you say it without smiling?

Dring-dong! The doorbell's insistent ringing jangled in her ears. _Again?_

"Coming!" Why did she have to be the one stuck at home on Halloween? All the others had gone out to get candy while she, Rosette had gotten the short straw and had to stay home. The others hadn't even been willing to play switch up! The doorbell rang again. "I said I'm COMING!" Rosette threw open the door. "What is with you little brat!" she screeched, opening the door. "I mean, come on! You only have to ring ONC- oh! Father Patterson!"

"Good evening, Rosette."

A/N: And, that's another chapter. I wasn't going to have it end here, but it was getting long, and much as I like long chapters, they take soooo long to write (natch), so, I'll write these middle length chapters. - It wasn't a great chapter, but lots of important get-the-plot-going-again stuff happened like-

**McB:** Sneko! You're not supposed to tell the readers what happens next! :

**Sneko:** Wha? Why not? :O

**McB:** (adjusts glasses) Because then there won't be any surprises! And you shouldn't tell them when there's important information!

**Sneko:** Why's not? :x

**McB: **Because your job as the author is to leave it up to them to figure out, and you have faith in them that they will when the time comes. -.-

**Sneko:** ...Ooooooh! Ok! (Turns to you) I didn't tell you there weren't no no important information in this chapter! -

**McB: ** &&()(&)$! WHACK! Stomps away :L

**Sneko:** sits up Humph! Sassafras that inner editor! (I.e. McB) It's so much more fun being the inner crazy! (runs off to go dance in the rain) v Oh wait! - Does anyone know what the equation Rosette was working on was for? (In case you forgot: ymx+b). Just testing your skills! See you soon! (I hope)


	42. Stories, Gross Stuff and Truffles

A/N: Hi, and welcome back to New Time New Place! How're you all doing? I know all you writing people are updating like crazy...how's a gal 's'posed to stick to her diet? Ah well. This chappy is going out to the person who solved last chapter's equation, including telling me what each thing stood for. Soooo! **Aenaisaigo no Tenshi**, (and I really hope I spelled that right, but it is a very, very long name!) this chapter goes out to you for knowing that ymx+b is the formula for slope y-intercept on a line, and that y was the y-coordinate, m is the slope, x is the x-coordinate and b is the y-intercept! Good for you for remembering that from review class! Yaaay! Now then...I suppose that's everything for now...arg, school's too busy, but I have today and tomorrow at home thanks to the Thanks Giving weekend. Why am I writing the Halloween day chapters on Thanks Giving? Because food always ends up in my chapters anyway. Yum! Oh yahs. Warning, some of these chapters might contain a bit of yaoi, but don't worry fangirls (not to be sexist against any guys who might by reading this, but this seems to be more of a problem with fangirls than fanguys), it has nothing to do with Chrono, despite what some of his x-schoolmates might think. Since there was a yaoi-ish bit in an earlier chapter and no one really minded, I'm assuming it's ok. If ya don't like it, tough, but it isn't really a huge part of the story, so you can skip some of it if you want.

Chapter 42 :Yayayaaaa! Chapter 42! Wuppeee! Wahoooo! What'm I nuts? As Snekochan, probably. Hey, I like writing (and getting reviews), you like reading (and writing reviews), so we're all happy.

_"Jes? That you?" Grey froze, hearing shadowed bed creak as its occupant rolled over. Superior! Was he awake? Holding his breath, Grey waited, waited for a sound, a creak, a word that would say whether Superior was awake, that he hadn't just been calling from a dream. "Jessie?" Damn. The bed gave a louder creak as Superior sat up._

_"Sorry." Grey swore as he heard himself answer. Sorry Golden. How could he do this? "I-uhm...I was having trouble sleeping." slowly, his feet carried him over to the bed until he was sitting on it, his hip against Superior's._

_"Whaaaat? You having those nightmares of yours again?" Superior tickled his cool fingers up the younger angel's neck, nipping his ear. "Or, was something else bothering you." Uh oh. Grey tried not to stiffen. The way Superior said 'else' was not good at all. "You know you can talk to me, Jesse. We're old friends." he shivered, unable to resist the urge to lean back against the other's strength. "About anything that might be bothering you." His head dropped back as the tongue cooled a moist path up from his collarbone to his jaw, burning him, branding him. Why was he thinking about going against Superior...why did he have to...oh!...try to drop the mould? It wasn't his business what Superior was doing..."That's right." He just had to do as he was meant to, to follow orders. To do otherwise..."If you do otherwise, you end up...like him..." Like him? Like who? Grey allowed his eyes to open slightly, but then he had to close them again, trembling. Yes, that's right. Him, that one...the betrayer..._

"Fa-father Patterson!" Rosette squeaked, jumping back in surprise, her heart thumping. "Wha-what are you-"

"Good evening, Rosette." The priest stepped in to the front hall, taking off his hat. "Is Chrono in? I found something that might interest him, and probably you as well."

"I er...come in! And no, he's not here right now. He has work. Have a seat." she added as they went into the kitchen.

"Thank-Urg- you." Patterson grunted as he eased himself into the chair. "How have you all been? Ewan called to let me know Chrono was feeling better, but I hadn't really solved anything at the time, so I didn't see fit to come. A good thing as I hear you all went out?" Rosette blushed.

"We...uh...well, we had the next day off school, and Chrono had just woken up, so we were trying to get him to cut loose a bit...it didn't really work, although..."

"I see." Patterson leaned back, setting his mug on the table. "I can't really imagine him 'cutting loose' as you called it anyway. It just doesn't suit some people. Alright then, since Chrono's not here and I can't stay here all night, I'll explain my findings to you and you can pass them on to Chrono. Good? Good." Patterson cleared his throat.

"The day Chrono passed out, you had received a pendant in the mail, from your father, I believe. The pendant had a spell on it, a very strong one. One designed to loosen a soul in its mortal body."

"A spell?" she echoed, but he held up a hand to silence her.

"The spell was written in runes along the exterior of the pendant, but, there's more to it then that. One of the runes on the outside was the angelic rune for 'Remember', followed by the demonic and angelic runes for 'betrayer'. It was very puzzling. Especially when we noticed there were more runes inside." Patterson pulled a sheaf of paper from his pocket. "Years ago, well before my time, someone at the Magdalene Order translated the Angelic and Demonic runes and taught a select few people how to read them. She was the Saint Mary Magdalene, known as a healer, a prophet and...for falling in love with a demon who was frequently called 'the betrayer' or the 'Sinner', for he'd done much against his own people. In one of her journal entries from before, the Sinners kidnapped her; she mentions a story of a fallen angel that she heard in a dream. She doesn't elaborate, unfortunately, but one of the lines in the entries was 'The Fallen One', which, by coincidence or not, is what was written on the outside of the pendant." Father Patterson unfolded the papers, squinting at them. "We found this story, written in runes, on the inside of the pendant. Curious, I translated it, and this was what I found, the story of The Fallen Angel, as it's called." Patterson handed her the papers. "Give that to Chrono, will you? You should read it too. Now, I'm afraid it's very late, so I must be going." Before Rosette could open her mouth and say anything, he left.

"But-" puzzled, she winched as the door slammed, opening the papers. How very, very weird. Still. Rosette flipped through the papers, looking at the clock. It was late, but she couldn't go to bed yet so...turning on some music (quietly, as not to wake the others) she settled into the living room and opened the papers, starting in on the first page.

"In the beginning, it started with an angel, before the gates of heaven were open. He was the oldest there, next to the God, but he was second in command and authorised his order. He was the angel of great power and skill when it came to weaving the ways of the heavens and earths; he was the Watcher of Realms. It was a great honour to be bestowed with such powers and he used them well and justly, even when he used them to have fun.

"Now, one can't have fun alone, and it's no fun to be alone, so this angel gathered around him angels of the most powerful types: of Hope and Rebirth, Emotion, Soul, Passage, Fate and Time. Being the second angel in command, they all had to answer to him, and thus, they called him Superior, the angel of strings who kept them together and thus the worlds as well. He could destroy them if he wanted, so none dared to face him without total agreement and the heavens were kept in peace. Until the youngest angel of the group, Time, turned, that is.

"The power of time is a terrible burden, for it is something that can cause much pain, something it's bearer knew well. Quiet and more reserved then his older siblings, Time was the one who drew Superior; more from curiosity then anything. The two angels spent much of their time together, walking among the gardens of heaven, talking. Time became Superior's secret bearer, for not a word that they spoke was repeated. They were like brothers. Superior could always count on Time to back his plans and he could always count on the younger angel when he needed to rant and blow off some steam without the others knowing. However, Superior hadn't realized that the younger angel had found a hobby of his own, and more than that, had thoughts of his own...ones that were different from those of his master's! Time had discovered the human realm and within it, had discovered a girl called Mary.

"Mary was a poor farmer's daughter, but she was kind, and loved people, despite being ill. Intrigued, Time snuck down to the human world, something incredibly dangerous for angels, and took the form of a human boy to be near her and watch her, the action that eventually caused his downfall.

"Angel's, as a rule, don't have strong emotions. Emotions are for humans and the Dark Ones, or demons. However, while he was near the human girl Mary, something in Time awoke, and with it came strange thoughts, like that the games angels played were wrong, and that every human had feelings. He began to empathize with the humans and he began to care for Mary, never knowing that all along, the girl knew of his angelic origins. She was a prophet, but she said nothing, and they enjoyed a short time together. Sadly though, despite his powers, Time could not stop the days from slipping by, and soon, Mary had passed on.

"Time knew that once Mary passed on, they would be separated forever, for humans weren't allowed in heaven. Unable to bear that burden, he chose to go against Superior's (And God's) orders, and smuggled Mary's human soul into heaven, for once a soul is angelic, it can't become not angelic. Once he'd snuck Mary in, she was there to stay.

"Superior was furious -for by allowing one human soul to enter heaven, Time had opened the gates for all human kind-

But despite what he'd done, Time was still his favourite of the angels, so the kind ruler decided to give the angel a chance to redeem himself.

"Superior sent Time to Hell and renamed him Chrono, the Demon of Time. As Chrono, all Time had to do was do what he was told by Aion, the demonic form Superior took to keep an eye on him. Unfortunately, Mary, or Golden as she was renamed in heaven, had other plans. Golden disagreed with Superior's plans and felt that Time shouldn't have to do as he was told, so, the impudent wench, went against Superior, and exercised her new powers over fate to have Time, or Chrono, meet a human girl, one who could help him.

"At first, Superior didn't realize the girl he'd sent to temp Time away was really one chosen by Golden. He was sure things would go right this time, up until when he sent someone to kill the girl, Rosette. To Superior's shock, when the assassins went to slay her, Time refused to let them, sacrificing his life to save her rather than returning to Superior's side. The weak Time had fallen deeply in love with the human.

"No angel can turn against Superior and God without facing punishment. Superior cursed the pair of lovers, giving Chrono a demonic soul and Rosette a human one. They would be reborn, again and again, until Chrono returned to Superior, leaving the girl. He was the betrayer, doomed to betray and kill the people he cared for until he righted the wrong he'd committed. Sadly, though reborn again and again, Time steadfastly refused to part with the human girl, and whenever he tried to, sensing the danger to his beloved, she would follow, in a never-ending circle that kept them forever together, forever apart. However, time was running out for Time himself: a demon may live an incredibly long time, thousands of years, millions even, but they do not, as many people say, live forever. A demon has a set lifetime, unlike angelic souls, (which include human souls, thanks to Time allowing a human to rise to heaven) and when it dies, it will simply cease to exist. Never to be; as if it never was. Each lifetime Time spent with the human girl, the less time he had, until, at last, when most angels had forgotten why he was there, he arrived at his last existence on earth.

"Which will he choose? Will he shed his heart and rejoin his brother, or, will he betray, yet again?"

"Kiss today good bye...the sweetness and the sorrow...It's as if we always knew...but I won't regret, lalalalala, lalalalalaaaa." Rosette jumped and looked up as the front door closed quietly and Chrono walked by the room, humming along with whatever music was coming from his headphones. After a moment, his footsteps stopped and he backed up, sticking his head around the doorjamb.

"You're still up?" he tugged off the headphones and dropped into the chair across from her, winching. "Oof. I think I just realized what a full day shift at Austy's entails. What're you doing up so late this Halloween?" he asked, stretching. Rosette scowled.

"Stop being so cheerful! I got stuck staying here while the others went out to get candy, so I didn't get any candy, and they won't share, the meanies! They wouldn't even switch up with me!" she pouted. "And Father Patterson dropped this off." she handed him the papers which he started reading. After a moment he frowned, shifting on the couch and curling his legs up as he leaned forward, his hair hiding his face. How could he read like that? His nose was practically touching the paper! "Goodnight." sighing, she turned, heading for the stairs.

"Wait." Chrono dropped the papers aside, catching her sleeve and lurching to his feet. "Do you have a sweater? A warm one? It's chilly out." Rosette raised an eyebrow.

"Are you nuts? It's three in the morning. We can't go knocking on-"

"Who said anything about knocking on doors?" Chrono wrinkled his nose. "Austy forced the staff to dress up, so I refuse to do so again. No, we aren't going Trick or Treating. However, if you were to have a sweater on, I might be able to remedy your candy-less state. Come on Rosette, I know it's late but, I owe you for checking in on the kids and holding down the fort here."

"Alright." She rolled her eyes. "Geez. What I'll do for candy." Still muttering, she grabbed a sweater and tugged it on, stalking down to where Chrono was waiting by the door wearing one of his oversized baggy sweaters. "It's a good thing it's dark, she growled as they went outside and got on the motorcycle.

"Sorry. S'what I've got at the moment. There's a small issue of buying clothing for kids and keeping food on the table before I worry about fashion."

"Point taken." Closing her eyes, she rested her head on his shoulder, keeping her arms around his chest as they went down Bradford. "So where are we going?" she blinked as they climbed in elevation and passed the Motor, a large hotel. "We're going to Signal hill?"

"Yes. Hey, watch out for ghosts at Dead Man's Pond."

"Dead Man's pond?" Rosette squinted at the shadowy waters as they passed. "Why's it called that?" They climbed further up and pulled into the parking lot and sat on the low stonewall over looking St. John's. Rosette shivered on the cold stone, shifting closer so their legs were touching.

"Dead man's pond? I'll tell you if you really want, but first," Chrono pulled a small box from a bag at his side. "For you." Surprised, Rosette slipped the lid off, gasping as the sweet, chocolate scent washed out.

"Wha-" She looked up at Chrono in surprise but he shrugged, looking back out over the city.

"I needed to bring something to work today, so I made them. The recipe makes about 60 truffles, so I had more then enough. Since I knew you'd end up stuck at home, I thought..." he was drowned out as she started tearing through the chocolates.

"These are **really** good Chrono!" Licking her lips, she slowed down, rolling her eyes in delight. Why did he have to be such a good cook? It really was an endearing trait in a guy. "Mmm. I know what I want for Christmas! So what's the deal with Dead Man's Pond?" Chrono shrugged.

"A long time ago they used to execute criminals and hang their bodies off the hill above Dead Man's Pond." Rosette choked, her stomach twisting. "When the bodies...um... rotted, they...fell into the water." Chrono caught the green cast to her face. "But that's not the best eating conversation. She glowered at him and he backed away slightly. Trying to ignore how she missed his warm side, she took another bite of truffle.

"The pond story is...um..."

"Gross maybe." Chrono scratched his ear, looking embarrassed. "Sorry. I never thought. But you did ask. I should've just told you the other stuff about it, like how it's so deep scientists haven't found the bottom. Apparently, they were planning on sending one of those robot subs down, but I don't know if they did- ha-ha!" he looked the other way, trying to smother a chuckle, but she heard.

"What? Chrono-" he was laughing harder.

WHACK.

"Will you PLEASE," she cracked her knuckles. "Tell. Me. What's. So. FUNNY?!!"

"You've managed to get chocolate on your face." he turned back, keeping his face remarkably strait, although she sensed he would start laughing at any moment. Still, the lights from the city cast shadows on his face and made his eyes glow, especially when he tucked his hair behind his ear and bent to pull a tissue from his bag, making him seem...other worldly. "Here." She scrubbed at her face for a moment then looked up. By the sparkle of glee in his eyes, she'd only made it worse.

"What did you put in these things?" she scowled as his smile broadened.

"Here you goose." before she could cause herself any more embarrassment, he reached over with the tissue and dabbed at her face. "Wow. It is sticky, isn't it? I'll have to remember that next time."

"Hadn't you made them before?"

"Nope. In fact," he squinted, muttering about bad eyesight. "I haven't even tried them. I think I missed a spot. Hold still." Rosette gasped as the very tip of something warm and pink tickled her lower lip before his mouth closed softly, shyly over hers, his tongue lapping gently at the area around her lips.

A/N: well, there ya go! - Actually, that part at the end...okay, everything that happened on Signal hill this chapter, with the exception of the pond thing, wasn't supposed to occur until the end of the story, but I was tired of waiting. They were supposed to kiss in the Mmm-Mmm!

**McB: ** Do you NEVER learn?

**Sneko:** But we changed it? Why does it matter?

**McB:** What if you decide to write a different version...anyway, what the dumb kitty was trying to say, was that our original plan was for them to kiss somewhere else, but that reminded us too much of the kiss in the manga, and we didn't like that, so we changed it. Plain and simple. That's all we're saying. (Whacks Sneko over the head and adjusts glasses.)

**Sneko:** Noes it's not! We have a couple other things to say! (McB rolls eyes)

**McB:** Alright, alright. Firstly, the contest for this chapter is:

**Sneko:** Whoever can tell me what the name of the song Chrono was singing and who it was by and/or where it's from gets the next chappy dedicated to them!

**McB:** Bonus points go if you can say how you think it suited the chapter.

**Sneko:** Clue-

**McB:** Can it you dumb cat! Respect the readers! (Turns back to you) Anyway, this chapter actually got put out faster because of a) a holiday weekend; b) my procrastinating habits; c) my parents who give me the time to write, and d) because I had to take a trip to the hospital for my asthma, my parents let me take the dat off and slowly, so I get to get some work done and so I won't be sick for me field trip tomorrow!

**Sneko:** Please read and review! Please????

**McB:** Oh! And because the conversation thing I've started putting in is causing confusion, I'll explain something. Sneko and I are the same person. I am the calm (usually) quiet, practical, booky one that exists in the real world and at school. Some also call me the inner editor to, because I'm like that.

**Sneko:** I on the other hand am the creative, somewhat weird, energetic (and eccentric) writer you all know and love? 8( We're both part of Sarah, so I hope you don't mind these internal dialogues. Think of it like a conscious with a zany streak meets...oh wait, that's not right...what ever! See you next chapter! -

**McB:** Bye bye. (Secretly in the process of squealing over the ending, but she'll never tell anyone. She's like that.)


	43. Pictures & Nasty People

A/N: Welcome back! This is the 43 chapter of New time New Place, and I hope you enjoyed the last chapter! This chapter is going out to the person who knew that the song Chrono was singing last chapter was "What I did for Love" from A Chorus Line. Soooo...give it up for our musically enlightened person: KonekoMiyabi!

This chapter, I'm afraid though, has another person who will be mentioned because they're really nice, and because last chapter, they commented not only on the kiss, but also on the plot part of the story, which was definitely the hardest part of NTNP I've had to write yet. So, for noticing the plot portion and commenting on it, RosetteOfTheMagdalanOrder, you get mentioned in this too! Thank you! And thank you to every one else who's reviewed too! I hope to be able to dedicate more chapters to more people soon, ok!

Chapter 43

Grey opened his eyes, blinking hazily and trying to figure out where he was; lying in the huge expanse of empty bed.

_Superior. _

_With mental curses he'd get in huge trouble for, Grey leapt from the bed, scrambling to figure out where the other angel had gone. His eyes fell on the glowing stairs._

_Not good._

_Glowing stairs meant an angel had gone to earth, meaning Superior was down on Earth doing who knows what to Golden's charges._

_Really not good._

_"Superior?" Grey winched at the plaintiveness of his voice as he crept over to the stairs. Well, could he help it if the idea of going against Superior scared the heaven out of him? Carefully, he put a foot on the top step. _

_Really, really not good. Very bad, actually._

_Then the next one down. _

_Then the next..._

_and the next..._

_and the next..._

_Golden grinned, tiptoeing away from the couple as above them, the clouds rolled across the moon. Smirking slightly, she cast her glance heavenwards, looking innocent. After all. What was wrong with a little push in the right direction? Suddenly she noticed Heaven's Stair was glowing. _

_Another angel was coming to Earth. _

_"Oh no!" Quickly, she dove into the air, flitting across the night sky, bolting towards the staircase. She couldn't risk getting caught and grounded, for if she did, how would God stop Superior's plans?_

Rosette sat, frozen and burning, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Shock flushed through her as she realized exactly what was going on.

Chrono was kissing her.

I'm-not-dating-I-don't-have-time Chrono D'Crusa was...well, that was stupid! She knew perfectly well who he was.

And he didn't kiss, which meant he had to've been possessed by a ghost as they passed by Dead Man's pond, and thus, the ghost was forcing him to kiss her. That would also explain the confusion and shock that radiated off him just as well as the heat, so, any logical thinking person would pull away. After all, who wants their first off-stage, on the lips, kiss to be with a possessed person?

But he was so warm...and was such a good kisser too. It really was a pity he didn't do it more often, but that was probably a good thing, or she would've been incinerated on the spot. And anyway, didn't possessed people not remember whatever happened while they were possessed? Which meant he wouldn't remember this.

Pity.

But it had its good points. Carefully, she wound her arms over his shoulders, tipping her face up and nipping back at his lips. To her surprise, the shock coming from him increased drastically. Hmm. Maybe he thought she was possessed too? Well; she decided as she still couldn't bring herself to move away; maybe they were. After all, there were how many supposed lifetimes to make up for, she wondered as he seemed to have gotten over his shock and allowed his arms to slip around her waist, stopping her from falling. (Which was very nice of him, because it was a long way down.)

A flash went off beside them.

"What?" Rosette yelped, leaping back, instantly grateful for Chrono's kid-catching powers as he grabbed her arm. "What the hell?" She looked around, blinking in the sudden dark, but there was no sign of anything. "Freaky." There was no one around! No one, nothing, nothing at all except the huge stone shadow that was Cabot tower.

"We should go." Chrono stood up, looking around the parking lot, his eyes narrowed. Rosette shivered and nodded, climbing on behind him and huddling close as they coasted past Dead Man's Pond and further down the street, passing the sparkling lights of the Motor hotel.

It was so quiet; the streets nearly empty and lined with dark eyes houses, still strung with their Halloween garlands and lights. Few cars were out on the road this late, or early, as it was well after midnight.

"Nnnn. I have to get for school after this!" Rosette moaned, trying not to think about what time it was as they slipped into the driveway. Chrono ran his hands through his hair, chewing furiously on his lip.

"Rosette?" she paused, hand on the door as he stepped up behind her. "Rosette, I'm sorry for-"

Sorry? He was sorry? She looked back at his averted face, but the painting of red was still visible across his face, his ears, his neck. It was hard to be mad when he looked so shy. Still, one had to have certain standards. You couldn't let someone just kiss you and walk away, and especially not when they were trying to worm their way out by apologising.

She would not give in and kiss him. She had standards. She would let him apologise, then she would hit him, because you weren't supposed to apologise after your first kiss. First kisses weren't supposed to be a thing to apologise for. Thus, she had standards; thinking that; and Chrono didn't make it past them. Thus, she should hit him for kissing her.

"Sorry's not good enough mister, so shut up a minute."

You had to have standards...

So she kissed him.

Because she had standards.

Rosette yawned, mounting the steps outside the school. There aught to be a law against making people climb stairs the day after Halloween. No, scratch that. There aught to be a law against having to get up the day after Halloween, especially when you didn't get home until 5:00 in the morning.

She would murder Chrono. It was a little late to hide his mutilated body amongst the Halloween decorations...but if she put it in the trash, no one would think twice. Mmm yes, she would murder Chrono. Veeeeeerrrrrryyyy slowly. No sneak ups from behind from her, no sir! She'd-"

"Hey Rosette. Nice picture." Rosette blinked as Joshua darted by, racing to meet up with Fi. She waved to him, then to Sammy, but the girl scurried away without saying anything. Puzzled, Rosette grabbed her books from her locker and made her way towards homeroom, when her nose decided to take a trip to the floor.

"You just love getting attention, don't cha Rosy." Rosette glared at Claire's shoes before jumping to her feet.

"The Hell's that mean!" she snarled, her fists flexing.

"You heard me! You love getting all the attention! First you skulk in off the streets of Milk face or whatever and steal the lead in the play, and then you plaster yourself all over the cover!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Claire rolled her eyes.

"Oh, like I believe that. No no, I assume you enjoyed your kiss with the freak. What kind of slut are you?"

"SLUT? Why you-"

"Well? Going after a gay guy, and kissing the Creep! You must be desperate. Or he paid you. Was that it?"

"What the hell? How-" her eyes hit the paper in Claire's hand and the girl smirked. "Give me that!" She snatched it, her face turning a brilliant steaming red at the picture of a guy who looked-a-lot-like-and-was-probably Chrono and a girl-who-couldn't-be-but-was her...not good. Really, really not good.

"Ah, Miss Christov." Face still burning, Rosette turned...and scowled at Aion, how smiled mildly back. "Did you enjoy your night adding to my brother's reputation? Oh ho, my parents will be most annoyed with him once they see the clipping I sent back. So, how far did you go? I know it isn't a teachers business, but I do care for your safety you know. So, what did he do?" Claire's eyes widened even further as Aion dropped an arm around Rosette's shoulders. He waved at the shocked girl, a light grin on his face. "Ah yes, Ms. O'Conner. Ms. Christov and I are very well acquainted, you see." Rosette slapped away his arm.

"In your dreams, you bastard! What the hell do you want? And it's no business of yours how far we went! You should be more concerned about your own harem!" Aion tried to look hurt, but it didn't really work.

"Ah, Rosette, I care only for your safety! Especially from my treacherous brother. You know his reputation and all. I was simply concerned for your health. Also, when he dies, I suppose...oh, will I sound callous if I say I don't want to take any more of his whelps then necessary." Oblivious to the fact that Claire had slowly backed away, Rosette threw herself at Aion.

"You freaking ass! His whelp? Damn you, every one of those brats-" she mentally apologised to the kids. It was merely a point- "are yours! And you don't seem to be making any move to take them!" Aion frowned, leaning against the wall.

"Take them? Why? I will when my dear little brother passes on. I'll take the sobbing little dears in, rescuing them after years of maltreatment from my deceased scandal causing brother."

"Why you! Aion" A hand grabbed her from behind.

"My, my, my, Aion, it's been ages. Are you working a slander over Chrono's reputation yet again? And involving bystanders too? You haven't changed a bit." Rosette stepped away from the tall woman who'd joined them. Her casual smile widened as her eyes glowered. "You're still the same God-damned bastard you were back then, only you're making it worse on him then you did on me." Aion's back stiffened in a way Rosette had never seen from the joking lunatic.

"I have a reputation and a legacy to keep, Heather, my dear. As for you...well, you didn't have the strangeness factor of our dear little Chrono." Heather narrowed her eyes, before smiling sweetly as Aion seemed to have gotten over his surprise.

"Aw Aion! That's so sweet! You don't think I'm a freak and you want to carry on the family traditions! How admirable! And how smart! You can walk asunder with the laws preventing the slander of character, which you obviously have shredded, because your daddy knows the judge! Ooh! Aren't you so big and strong?" Heather fluttered her long dark lashes and flicked back her flowing honey braid, looping her arm through Rosette's. "You fool. Get a good lawyer-" Aion laughed.

"Ah, don't be silly Heather! I know all the lawyers in the country and employ the best of them! Still, it's sweet of you to worry about me." Rosette looked between the two. Was this another of Aion's ex-s? Heather held herself regally, but there was something strange about her too. Rosette squinted, noticing the woman's dark roots. Dyed hair.

"Fool." Heather lifted her chin. "You don't have everyone playing your tune, even when they're singing in your show. Oh, how's that going, anyway? Your leading lady's good, but your darling male has less singing talent then my goldfish."

"You don't know music when you hear it Heathy! Speaking of which, while it was a heart to talk to you again, Heather, I really must go. I have a play to direct, you know, and Miss. Christov has practice, as soon as she tells her homeroom teacher why she's late for homeroom."

"He won't mind, Aion. Save your concern." Rosette growled as Heather put a hand on her shoulder.

"Oh don't worry. I'll make sure Ewan understands. He was the one who told me where to find her!" Smiling sweetly, the woman steered her away from Aion. "Ta-ta Aion! Say hi to your father for me." Waving her hand in a sickeningly flirtatious manner, Heather stuck her tongue out as they went outside, dropping onto the concrete railing as the doors closed. "Finally. Damn, I hate him. You mind if I light up?" Rosette wrinkled her nose as she hooked a cigarette over her lip and lit it. "I know it's bad, but I could use one." Heather tapped it lightly against the brick wall of the school. "Chrono would kill me for it though. He always was the good boy in our family."

"In your family?" Rosette shook herself out of her shock. What was she doing? "Who are you anyway! Are you one of Aion's ex-girlfriends? You know an awful lot, but he's a bastard, and why did you step in? I want to pound the smirk off his face!"

"And that would get Chrono in even more trouble then he's already in, Rosette. Anyway," she blew out a puff of smoke. "I'm Heather D'Crusa, Chrono's elder -supposedly dead- sister, also estranged. Pleased to finally meet you, Rosette."

a/n

**McB:** Being the sensible one here, I'm going to say that I'm very sorry for this being so late coming out. I had no time to write at all on Saturday, I've had an incredibly busy week at school, etc, etc, etc. I also worked on my webpage for a bit instead of this, so bad McB/Snekochan. I'm trying hard, I really am.

**Sneko:** We had writers block too! Because we weren't putting the kiss in, and then we didn't know- smermf! (Wrestles with McB who grabbed her around the throat.)

**McB:** How many times do I have to tell you what you do and don't tell the reader! Now then...what's my contest for this week going to be...hm. I never though of that. I know. How about you send me ideas as to what should happen in the next few chapters? I know what's going to happen, but you never know. You might affect the history of New Time New Place! So send your ideas, and the person's idea I like best will get their idea typed into either part of a chapter or a New Time New Place-let extra, and get a chapter dedicated to them! Okay then! I'm off to the next chapter, because I'm waaaayyyyyyy behind!


	44. Sisterly Love

A/N: Hello readers of NTNP! Welcome back! Sneko chan and McB have returned yet again to wreak havoc on the lives of out beloved heroes, but hey, if we didn't, the heroes' life would be normal and they wouldn't be heroes, so yay for cruel, villainous writers! Now, as for this chapter's dedication goes tooooo: LYRA THE SORCERESS OF SCHOLARS for her very uhm...weird idea of a way to get at Aion. I'll see what I can do, so be patient. It was a little long to be a ficlet soooooooo! You'll have to wait and see what I do!

McB: Enough chitchat Sneko! Get writing or no copy of My Cat Loki.

Sneko: what? Nooooo! Don't take it away! It's about a cat and an artist! You can't take it away! (Read it. It's really good, and I intend to do a fanfic of it!)

Disclaimer: I forgot this last chapter, but use your brains people. I didn't suddenly get the rights to it. I own Bridges. And Strider School. And half my mental capacities.

Chapter 44 (What the heck? It just keeps getting longer and longer.)

_Grey leaned over the drainpipe; trying to figure the taller girl out. Who was she working for? Was she working for anyone? It was hard to tell right now, and everything seemed to be in the midst of change. The only thing he could see as a constant was the tension that lined the air. So Superior wanted to punish Chrono for a betrayal, and Golden was trying to prevent Chrono from returning to Superior, because then the angel of time (or demon now) would return to the way he was before- quiet, unthinking, a mental slave. So, Golden wanted Chrono free, Superior wanted Chrono back, so what did Grey want? _

Rosette blinked, staring at the woman. Older...sister? "Wh-what do you mean older sister?" Heather rolled her eyes, puffing out smoke.

"Sorry deary, I didn't think that it'd be this hard to understand-"

"No! No, no, I get it. I think Chrono mentioned, a long time ago, that his sister died. But..." Heather grinned, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Yeah, that was me, Ana Castov. Now I'm Heather Jacobs. Pleased to meet you." Rosette shook the woman's offered hand, raising an eyebrow at the iridescent nails.

"So...if you haven't been dead this whole time, then how come Chrono doesn't know you're alive? He seemed sad when he said you'd died." Rosette swung herself up onto the cement railing, waving smoke out of her face. Heather pouted.

"You sure get to the point. No 'how was law school Heather' or 'where've you been?'. You're awfully direct." Heather took a drag off her cigarette. "But alright, direct is good. Well, truth is, I didn't know that he wasn't still at Christov labs." Rosette winched. "I went to the labs, and there he was: gone. It was rather annoying, you see, for I'd heard the poor thing was dieing, and I figured I see how he was and what I could do. Lucky for me, Vincent was there, and had just returned to a trip where he'd dropped in on his daughter who was staying in St. John's Newfoundland with one of his former test subjects. Thinking it might me Chrono, I scooted on over and what do you know:" she held up a copy of the paper. "My little brother, all grown up. He's quite the cutie now, isn't he?" She chuckled and Rosette felt her stomach tighten.

"So...why are you here anyway." Rosette hugged her jacket around her shoulders as a snowflake flitted past her ear. Heather tipped her head to the side.

"Why?" she asked incredulously. "Why?" she stood up, laughing. "Why? To take the poor thing back with me! He's dieing, you know, I'm sure, and I really don't want him to be hurt in any way, so I've come to bring him home. Well, to my home anyway. Once he's there I can get him into a decent hospital where he might live for more then three months." Rosette blanched. Three months? Was it really only that long? She frowned, a second part of Heather's words clicking in.

"Whoa!" she yelped, stopping the woman as she walked down the stairs of the school. "Wait! Where are you going? And what do you mean?" Heather turned around, her hands on her hips.

"Are you stupid, sweetie? I just told you. I've come to take Chrono somewhere where he can get better treatment then he gets here. They won't even hospitalize him here, even though he's dieing. He needs proper medical attention so he can pass the rest of his life peacefully, without pain, the poor lamb." Rosette straitened her back, trying not to feel the way her heart seemed to be ripping into little pieces and to concentrate on the red filling her vision. Luckily, that had never been a problem.

"Wait!" she stormed down the steps and stood in from of the taller woman. "And shut up while you're at it! You're saying you intend to help your 'poor' brother by taking him away from the people he knows and cares about, from his work, his home, and toss him into a hospital for him to pass the rest of his days chained to a little white bed? You call that sisterly love? And another thing, what happens to the kids? And the people staying at his house, hm? And have you even asked him about this? How he feels?" Heather scowled.

"I had no idea you'd be an uppity little thing. Kids? You mean Aion's brats? I don't give a damn about his whelp. They can go rot in the streets or go back to their asshole father for all it matters. As for the others, they can handle themselves. That's what they're here to do." Rosette sidestepped her as she tried to walk around her.

"And Chrono?"

"Is under age. It's none of his business how I decide to handle it. He's to come with me." Heather snapped, succeeding in getting around her.

"You're no fucking better then Aion!" Rosette snarled, stalking along beside her. "You talk about him like he has no mind or feelings, like he's some animal even! You can't just friggen' lock him up! He's still alive! He deserves a chance to live-"

"Oh shut up yourself! There's no point in arguing with a lawyer!"

"There is if the lawyer is wrong, and you are! You won't be helping Chrono! He's only 16 for fuck sakes Heather, and he's never even been on an official date-"

"Then he won't miss what he never had. Even better." Rosette paused, disgusted at the lump that had risen in her throat.

"So, you don't think he should be able to experience that? A first kiss? Laughter? Fun of being with someone he cares about? Of being able to love someone with-"

"I said shut up. There's no such thing as love, you naive child! Only truth, lies and fact. The fact is; Chrono is dieing. I've come to bring him where he'll live without feeling any pain, where he won't have worry about things. He's only a child, the same as you-"

"He's spent the last two years raising kids, Heather!" Rosette yelled, her fist clenching at her side as she grabbed Heather's arm. "He's not stupid and he's not a child! He works his ass off every day and he's still a nice guy! He's not jaded about any of this! A little restrained, maybe, reserved even. Yeah, he's afraid of hurting himself and others! But he's still alive! He aught to have a chance to-"

"To do what?" Heather spat, turning her back to the wind, which took her hair into a mane of snapping strands, cat-o-nine-tails. "Well? So he can get his heart shattered into a million pieces so he can cry himself to the world of the dead? Is that what you want?"

"Hell no! I don't want him hurt either, but-"

"But nothing!"

"He needs to live! This is his last chance! Our last shot! You can't take it away like some little toy!"

"What did you say?" Rosette barely registered the surprise on the older woman's face.

"You can't-"

"No! Before that. The 'our last' bit." Rosette bristled as Heather stepped foreword and tipped her chin up, the blonde's green eyes burning over the younger girls flushed face. Heather narrowed her eyes. "Surely you don't mean 'our' as in yours and Chrono's."

"And if I do?" Heather backed away and started pacing, her lips pursed.

"Rosette!"

"It makes no matter." Heather said finally, turning away as Roy ran over. "None at all."

"Rosette! Ms. Valentine says she needs to speak with you!"

"Ha-ha! I don't know, I think it's cute! Ace of spades." Chrono sighed and set aside his coke as Tina fanned herself with her hand. "So?"

"So what? Three of spades." he grumbled, adjusting his newly replaced glasses. It really was nice to be able to see again.

Tina rolled her eyes. "Aw come on Chrono! Admit it! You've been sighing and moping ever since she came, with the exception of whenever you two argue. Oh! A light on sir? Just a minute." she handed the tall man a beer and lay a three of hearts on the stack. "You like her a lot Chrono. You're happier when she's around. Tell her."

"And if she laughs it off? Two: Pick up two."

"You meany! I only had one card left!" Chrono smirked, his eyes teasing.

"Can you go?"

"No you ass, I can't." Tina growled, sticking her feet up onto his lap. "Anyway, a nice distraction, but-"

"It didn't work? Darn."

"You shouldn't annoy me when I'm sitting like I am." she wriggled her foot in a dangerous way. "All I'm saying is; you've changed since she came, Chrono. You've been laughing and smiling more then I've ever seen you since Mary died. Every time she's around you practically glow, even when you're arguing -oh, you know your set's next, right? - but when she's with some other guy, you're a regular black cloud. Oh right. Eight: change it to spades. Chrono, you care about her. Ask her out."

"Ever think of being a poet? Or are you in a match making mood? I'm beginning to get worried about you." he smiled, studying her until her glances towards the door caught his attention and he grinned. "Or, you've gotten yourself a friend. Is she nice?" Tina blushed.

"Yeah. She's a bit shy about the whole thing. A coverer, y'know. She's a bit nervous, so I don't know if it'll work."

"So why do you try? -Out."

"You rat! Well, anyway," She rounded up the cards and stacked them up again, slipping them under the counter. "I try because for all the times I meet someone who's lousy, I know that somewhere, out there, there's someone who's wonderful, just waiting for me to find them."

"I never knew you were such a romantic." Chrono grinned, standing and serving a woman who glowered at them from the counter, before huffing away with her beer.

"You're one to talk Mr. Closet Romantic himself!"

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"Chrono!" He looked up as the door flew open.

Sneko: Aaaanndddd! That's the end of the chapter! Who just burst through the door?

McB: That's for us to know and the readers to find out. (Fixes glasses)

Sneko: Awww! McB's no fun! All stuffy and arrogant! (cowers under steely glower) Ah,... right then! So! In this chapter, Chrono and Tina were playing cards. What game were they playing? Winner gets a chapter!

McB: Wow. This was really short. :(

Sneko: But I liked it! It was important becaus-mmmf!

McB: Snekooooooo!


	45. History Lessons

A/N: Arg! I don't believe it! No one picked up what the card game was, except one person, my little and bestest brother...Tnekochan! And even though he's my little brother, I didn't use a 't' because it comes after 's'. His name actually does start with T. So little bro, you get a chapter (Even though you can't read it -sorry) for knowing that the game Chrono and Tina were playing was Crazy Eights. Basically, you shuffle a deck, deal out eight to each player and lay one face up on the table. CE is played by suit, so if there's a Spade on the table, you can lay a spade on top of it. Then, you can also lay the same number on a number. (Say there was a 3 of hearts on the table, on top. You could lay any other three you have in your hand down onto it.) After those two rules, there's three card rules.

2's: When someone lays a 2, the next person picks up two. If that person has a two, they can then lay it and the person after them has to pick up four and so on.

Jacks: Jack's mean miss a turn. When you lay one, the next person misses their turn.

Eights: Ah yes. These are magic. You can lay them on anything, and when you do, you get to change the suit of the cards on the table to whatever you want. Hence the name, Crazy Eights.

Those are the basic rules of Crazy Eights. Don't feel bad if you didn't get it because it's one of a whole two card games that I know. Thus, any others are beyond me. Anyway, congrats to Tneko, my brother, and have fun! This one's for you pup!

Disclaimer: I don't own cc. Neither does my brother.

Chapter 45 (... Not to mention that there's 377 reviews...and I thought it was only 277. Geez I'm a dimwit. Sheesh.)

_"Grey? Grey where are you?" Golden sighed, her hands on her hips. Where had that angel gone? She needed his help to deter Heather! Otherwise, she'd've failed Chrono, and she didn't want to do that! God had sent her to try to pry the angel of Time from Superior's haughty side- now she had to figure out what the heck to do before she failed! At this rate, Chrono wouldn't admit his feelings, and even if he did... Golden shook her head. There was no time for doubts only small steps foreword and safety ropes._

"Chrono!" He looked up and dodged around the counter, catching Rosette a millisecond before her foot caught on an extension cord.

"Best watch- what's wrong?" Ignoring Tina's pointed looks, Chrono lead Rosette over to a booth and sat her down. "Don't you have work now?" Rosette shook her head.

"No stupid! Don't you know that?" He bristled.

"Now hey, I can tell you're pissed, but I didn't do anything, so don't-"

"Shut up! It's all your fault!" Rosette took a half-hearted swing at his head and missed, dropping her head to the table. Chrono took a quick glance around the bar as he settled himself next to her. Good. Mostly empty, and Tina could handle the woman who'd just come in.

"Ok. Will you tell me what I did? I really have no idea."

"You dropped out of school, that's what!" Rosette snapped, glaring at him. "Now my marks've dropped so low that the only way to bring up my mark enough to stay here would be if I got over a ninety five on the next test! And it's on history, my worst subject!"

"That's because you always sleep through it." Chrono noted wryly, dodging another swipe. "Ok, ok, easy." he held up his hands, trying to fend off the blows, which were unusually inaccurate, despite her looking directly at him.

Something else was upsetting her. The frustration, anger and ...fear? wafting off her didn't match this. Not quite, but he let it drop. "You big IDIOT!" Rosette took a drink from the coke he'd gotten her. "I never used to sleep when you were there! You always woke me up or gave me the notes! Now I'm going to fail the test and then I'm going to have to leave! It's not fair!" Trying to ignore the sudden feeling that Rosette of all people seemed to be talking in metaphors, (and this was Rosette they were talking about), Chrono stood up, cupping her face in his hands.

"Ok, ok, now listen. I have to play the next set or Austy'll have my head." he said slowly. She nodded. "After that, bring your notes over to the counter, and I'll go through them with you, ok? Right from the start of the chapter. You won't have to leave."

"So I won't have to drop out of the play?" Chrono paused, staring at her.

"That's it? That's why you're so upset about leaving?" He tried not to gape as she nodded sullenly. "I- what? Oh-" he shook his head. "The play...right. Ok, well, I'll...be back in a bit." The play. She was upset over leaving the stupid play...well; it made sense, seeing as that was the main portion of what she was doing outside and inside school. Of course she'd miss it, right? He tugged his unruly hair back into it's short braid and waved to Tina who mouthed a very determined 'Do it already' which he didn't have to wonder what was for before he was dropping onto the stool in front of the piano. She didn't want to leave the play, that was all. It had nothing... he glanced over to where she was sitting at the counter. _Got for it_, Tina had said. The woman was already talking up a storm with Rosette, and who knew what she was putting in the blonde's head. It was a very worrying thought, but it was nothing compared with the thoughts running through his head.

_Go for it_. Tina had said. Sassafras'n hell, he wanted to, but with so little time left, and no other chances... He paused as he finished his first song. Arg! What was he supposed to do? Play the next song, that's what.

"_I got my finger on the trigger_

_But I don't know who to trust._

_When I look into your eyes_

_There's just devils and dust._

_We're a long, long way from home Bobbie._

_Home's a long long way from us._

_I feel a dirty wind blowing_

_Devils and dust."_

_"I got God on my side_

_I'm just trying to survive. _

_But What if what you do to survive_

_Kills the things you love_

_Fear's a powerful thing_

_It can turn your heart black you can trust_

_It'll take your God filled soul_

_And fill it with devils and dust."_

_"Well I dreamed of you last night._

_In a field of blood and stone._

_The blood began to dry_

_The smell began to rise._

_Well I dreamed of you last night._

_In a field of mud and bone._

_Your blood began to dry_

_The smell began to rise."_

_"We've got God on our side._

_We're just trying to survive._

_What if what you do to survive,_

_Kills the things you love._

_Fear's a powerful thing_

_It'll turn your heart black you can trust_

_It'll take your God filled soul_

_Fill it with devils and dust."_

_"Now every woman and every man_

_They want to take a righteous stand._

_Find the love that God wills_

_And the faith that he commands._

_I've got my finger on the trigger._

_And tonight faith just ain't enough._

_When I look inside my heart_

_There's just devils and dust."_

_"Well I've got God on my side_

_And I'm just trying to survive._

_What if what you do to survive_

_Kills the things you love_

_Fear's a dangerous thing _

_It can turn your heart black you can trust_

_It'll take your God filled soul_

_Fill it with devils and dust."_

_"It'll take your God filled soul"_

_"Fill it with devils and dust."_

A/N: I didn't write that song, neither did McB, but more on that later.)

Man, how could he have thought about giving up music? He wondered as he tried to figure out what to play next. After all. It didn't matter how you felt, you could throw it into a song.

"He's a cutie, isn't he?" Rosette frowned at the green haired girl standing behind the counter.

"Who?" she set her books down and took another drink.

"Who? Him! Chrono! It's a really pity he's such a nice guy. Really sweet." Rosette narrowed her eyes at the woman.

"What's so bad about it?" She opened her book, trying to bring herself to stare at it and not Chrono. Unfortunately, (as Tina could've told her) it wasn't going to work.

The girl sighed dramatically.

"He's taken- oh I'm Tina by the way. Anyway, apparently he's madly in love with some rich brat from out west." Tina handed a Coke and sandwich to the woman she was serving. "Anyway, I don't need people to say it to know. He's been moping around here for weeks." Rosette looked up at the stage again and blushed as she met his glance, quickly returning to her books only to meet his glance again when she looked up. Behind cash, she heard Tina giggle.

"What's so funny?" she snapped, but the woman only smiled.

"Hopefully he'll listen. Yes ma'am, how can I help you?" Sticking out her tongue at Tina's back, she started going over the Boer war. Alright, Laurier made a compromise between French and English Canada to train, arm and send 1000 volunteers to help the British in South Africa- wait. Why was that again?

"I'm going to have to leave!" she whisper-wailed, dropping her head to the counter. She was going to have to leave, Chrono was going to be locked up...once they were separated, it was likely they'd never see each other again. In Not so Good, Not so Evil, the demon Chrono kissed Rosette leaving a promise to return, and then they were separated for seven years. Now, there wasn't seven years! If they were separated, it was likely the only thing she'd be able to track down and find would be a gravestone. Oh Chrono! She didn't want to leave! If she did, then no one would be able to convince Heather not to take him away! And Heather did take him away, she, Rosette would never see him again! Once again she looked up and met Chrono's eyes, feeling her face warm. He face had a decidedly pink tinge to it too...he cleared his throat.

"Alright. I'm going to finish off this grouping with two Nanci Griffith songs: first: She ain't goin' nowhere; then Gulf Coast highway. I know these songs don't seem to have anything to do with each other, but it's an approximation. Maybe she'll understand." The crowd laughed then resumed their eating and chatting quietly as he lurched into the first song. Tina sighed.

"I love it when he plays this. I heard him try it out the other day. He's an ear player, you know. He's fantastic at sight reading, but playing it by ear seems to be his best method."

"That's 'cause that's how he live." Rosette muttered. Now if only he'd stop singing so she could concentrate on her homework and not...his-don't look- voice- crap. Double crap, she loved it. It's smooth roughness, complex simplicity... and its rough smoothness and its simple complexity. An oxymoron in itself, and she loved it.

_"She was standin' on the gone side of leavin'_

_She found her thumb and stuck it in the breeze._

_She'll take anything that's goin' close to Somewhere Else_

_She can_ _lay it down and live it as she please_"

_"She ain't goin' nowhere_

_She's just leavin'._

_She ain't goin' nowhere_

_She can't breathe in._

_She ain't goin' home, that's for sure." _Rosette felt her heart pick up and was too shocked to hear Tina's appreciative 'Awww' as Chrono looked away again, staring intently at the piano as he slipped ahead into the second verse.

_"She's not sittin' down and crying on her suitcase_

_She has no second thoughts by the road._

_She has feelings that need some repairin'_

_And she did not give a damn that it showed."_

_"She ain't going nowhere _

_She's just leavin'_

_She ain't goin' nowhere _

_She can't breathe in..._

_She ain't goin' home, that's for sure- I won't let her_

_She ain't goin' home, that's for sure."_ Rosette sat up so suddenly she knocked her books off the table, but at that moment, even as he continued through the song without meeting her eyes, she didn't care about the books. Had he just said- judging by Tina's squeal, he just had.

"Uwah! He never changes the words to the songs! Never! Oh Rosette, he definitely thinks you're special-" Tina beamed before flinching. "Oops." Rosette stared at her.

"You know my name?" Tina shrugged.

"Chrono does talk about you all the time." Rosette...when is she going to grow up...arg I hate her!'"

"What! That bast-" a hand landed on her shoulder.

"I wouldn't listen to a word that pops out of that girls mouth Miss. Christopher."

"Awww! Austy!" Tina whined. "But it's true I lied. Chrono's never called you immature more then once."

"Tina." Austy said sternly, taking over her post as cashier.

"Alright, alright. But Rosette? You break his heart and I'll kill you." Tina grinned, perching on the stool. "Oh! Gulf Coast Highway. I've never heard him sing this, only seen him trying to work it out."

"What? I've never even heard any of these!" Rosette grumbled, picking up her books before they were trampled and setting them on the counter, shut.

"Even if you did, it's likely you won't recognise them." Tina laughed. "This is usually a duet, and in the country style, but he just sings everything his own way. That's just how he is. He hate's changing the words though, so he always makes sure he has the right ones. He does a good job with them all, but I prefer it when he plays his own music. Like Raven's Wings. I think that was the last song he wrote, and that was two years ago. He sort of stopped."

"He was planning on giving up music."

"A foolish plan if you ask me," Austy grumbled. "Do you realize how much money we've gotten since he started singing sets again? I was close to killing him when he stopped. Kid's got talent."

"And someone to sing for." Rosette blushed as Tina sent her a pointed look.

"Sh-shut up! Oh, he's starting." Leaning black on the counter, she shut her eyes, just to hear, letting the clatters and shouts of the bar slip away to the piano and the voice.

"_Gulf coast highway...he worked the rails._

_He worked the rice fields_

_With their cool dark wells._

_He worked the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico._

_The only thing we've ever owned_

_Is this old house here by the road._

_And when he dies he says he'll catch some blackbird's wings_

_And he will fly away to heaven_

_Come some sweet Bluebonnet spring."_

_"She walked through spring time...when I was home._

_The days were sweet_

_The nights were warm_

_The season's change, the jobs would come... the flowers fade._

_This old house that's all alone_

_When the work took me away._

_And when she dies, she says she'll catch some Blackbird's wings_

_And she will fly away to heaven _

_Come some sweet Bluebonnet spring."_

_"Highway 90... the jobs are gone_

_We tend our garden, we share the song (_word change)

_This is the only place on earth Bluebonnets grow._

_And once a year they come and go_

_At this old house here by the road."_

_"And when we die we say well catch some blackbird's wings_

_We will fly away to heaven_

_Come some sweet Bluebonnet spring."_

_"When we die, we say we'll catch some blackbird's wings_

_And we will fly away together_

_Come some sweet Bluebonnet spring!"_

"You seemed to have fun up there." He smiled, hopping over the counter so he was behind cash.

"I always enjoy it." he croaked. Rosette laughed and he grinned, flipping through her notes. "Your handwriting's atrocious." he squinted. "Alright...whooooaaaa. You guys are way back here?"

"Oh shut up Mr. Doing-his-school-work-via-a-computer! Not all of us are super smart." She gave him a swat and he pouted.

"Well sorry to you too. Anyway, the Boer war started in 1899 when British colonists were encroaching on the farms of Dutch settlers or Boers in South Africa. The reason the British wanted the land was because there were gold and diamonds on it. Eventually, the Boers were tired of being picked on and declared war. Britain wanted a show of forced from all its colonies and asked Canada to send an army. English Canada was all for sending an army while French Canada said they wanted no part in Britain's imperialist wars. Prime Minister Laurier made a compromise: He wouldn't send an official army, but he would train, arm, equip and send 1000 volunteers over to South Africa to help Britain. He ended up sending 7300 volunteers. Neither French nor English Canada was pleased with the decision; English Canada feeling not enough had been done, French Canada feeling we had done too much. Got it?"

"Yeah- I think, but-"

"Hey Chrono! We're leaving now." Tina waved, towing her date over. "Chrono, I'd like you to meet my date, Clai-"

"Creepy Crusa? What the hell are you doing here? And Rosette?" Tina shot the girl a confused glance.

"Clai, these are my friends, Chrono and Rosette. Rosette; Chrono; my girlfriend Claire O'Conner."

A/N: Aaaand! That's our chapter.

Sneko: whoever can name the first song Chrono sang and who sings it gets a chapter!

McB: that's right! So give it your best shot!


	46. Sparks

A/N: Hello and welcome to the 46th chapter of NTNP! Sneko here and she's pleased to see you all back!

First off, I'd like to apologise to anyone who's sent me a pm in the last few days. I haven't been getting them and its a real hassle- you wouldn't believe the trouble its caused. I'm still not getting all of them quickly, but they do seem to be getting through slowly. If I don't respond, chances are it didn't get through, so I'm very, very sorry.

Now, for this chapter's dedications! Considering last chapter no one got the answer, this chapter we have 6! This chapter goes out to: **Tsukita**, **Kite**, **Casui**, **Mooglequeen**, **Olynara Sedai**, **Gamergirl** and **Aenaisaigo no Tenshi** for figuring out the song which was indeed "Devils and Dust" by Bruce Springsteen! Great job guys!

Well, this is it, chapter 46 of NTNP, so I hope (as I always do) that you guys like it!

Disclaimer: You know this by now. Must I keep putting it in? I don't own cc. Pout and vinegar, but that's the way it is.

Chapter 46...-

_Grey crept through the crowded club, thankful for his ability to remain invisible to people. Ahhh. It was so useful, for he could be watched without being seen by anyone, except another angel, that is. Slinking along behind the stage, his wings dusting the floor, he studied the foursome standing my the counter, trying to figure out what to make of one another. Unfortunately, he couldn't hear what they were saying._

_He'd have to get closer. Unsure of why he was creeping and not just walking over, Grey moved slowly across the room, ducking behind people and tables until he moved his way within ear shot. The conversation wasn't really that important, but something had caught his eye. Slowly, so very, very slowly, he slipped behind the counter. Once there he peered over it, spotting a set of runes glowing, branded, all the way down the back of Time. Squinting, he tried to read them when abruptly, the teen turned._

"D'Crusa? Rosette?" Tina shot Claire a confused looked as the girl looked stricken for a moment before scowling. "What are you two doing here. And Ti, I thought you said this place was secluded!" Ti blushed, scrubbing the back of her neck.

"I- it is secluded! And I work here, so it was easiest, and-" That stupid Claire! Rosette fumed, about to yell when Chrono held out his hand, standing.

"So, you're Claire. Tina's told me about you." he smiled calmly. "Pleased to meet you." Claire scowled, but took his hand for the quickest handshake Rosette had ever seen before jumping back. "Rosette." he hissed, snapping her out of her silence.

"Oh- oh yeah... you're Claire! Claire, how nice to finally meet you."

"Ah yes, you're Rosette. Ti told me it was too bad you're strait." Claire sighed dramatically. "I suppose she was right too." Tina smirked.

"I dunno Clai. She fell in love with Chrono when he had his hair long, and he's playing mother to a bunch of kids, so she might've mistaken him for a girl." She grinned as Rosette swung at her, the blonde losing her balance and crashing yet again onto Chrono.

"You've gotta stop doing that." he grumbled, receiving a whack on the head for the insult. Still, Rosette had to smile as he helped her up. She'd never seen Claire look so baffled. Ooh, it was almost worth it for that!

"Rosette, d'you have your stuff? He nodded to her books. I have to go and make supper for the kids and the others back at the house, so are you coming? I just have to get my things from the back room." Rosette rolled her eyes.

"Yes stupid, I'm coming. Are you taking your bike?" He nodded, disappearing behind the counter.

"Well, we're off." Tina took Claire's arm and waved as the pair strolled for the door. Rosette sat back, listening to the caterwauling guy on the stage as she waited for Chrono to return.

"Wait." Grey froze mid flap and dropped to the ground, cursing as the ex-angel came over, his eyes curious. "Grey."

"I should've been more cautious, Time."

"Perhaps." Chrono shut the door so no one would hear him talking to himself. "I knew you were here though, even without seeing you." he wrinkled his nose. "However, you're as plain as daylight, so I guess the sneaking up thing you do on humans doesn't quite work on me. So. What are you here for?" Grey watched him pick up his sweater, finally able to read the runes on the other's back.

"Here for?" Grey touched two runes, each situated on Chrono's shoulder blades. "Nothing now." How perplexing. His eyes scanned the rest of the runes, cursing again as he discovered there were hundreds of them.

"I've heard of reading someone's face, but someone's back?"

"Oh shut up. You really have become more outspoken. If it weren't what Golden wanted I'd say you were annoying."

"Oh, go right ahead. Many do." Chrono shouldered his bag. "Look, I have to go home now, I have to cook dinner for the kids. You obviously can follow me, so can this wait? At least until you can tell me what it says?"

"You can't read it?"

"I can only see it in a mirror, but then I can't read it because it's backwards. I have someone waiting for me, so let's go."

"Nah, I think I'll-"

"Chrono! Will you hurry up!" Rosette kicked open the door. "Honestly- what's with the angel-dude?" Grey groaned, slumping.

"You can see me too?" Rosette scowled.

"Yeah. What of it? Can't everybody?"

"Nope." Chrono took her hand, smiling tersely. "No, only certain people can see them-"

"Like the dead and dieing, angels in human form, demons, and people gaining angelic powers." Grey added darkly, circling Rosette.

Rosette scowled at the angel, crossing her arms, her scalp prickling as his storm-sky eyes slid over her every inch- never inappropriately-, feeling like his gaze peeled her down to her soul; until he looked up and his grey eyes bored into her blue ones.

"You-"

"Grey, I am sorry, you know that, but can we please continue this at my house? I have a limited amount of time and I refuse to let the kids go hungry or Rosette walk home in the snow at night." The pair jumped as Chrono moved between them. "Is that alright?"

"I have seen what I needed to see." Grey sniffed, turning on his heel and spreading his wings to take off. With a flap of iridescent feathers he was airborne- until a sharp jerk on his left wing introduced his nose to the floor.

"HOLD IT!" Rosette growled, her eyes flashing dangerously. "WHAT have you seen that you wanted to see? Seeing as you were staring at me, I'd rather like to know. Do I meet your angelic standards? And what's with you angels? Can't you just break the spell on Chrono? He's going to die, and I'd rather that didn't happen, so why won't you do something about it!?"

"That's- not- my- jurisdiction-" Grey grunted, tugging helplessly at his trapped wing.

"You're lying and we all know it Grey. Rosette, let him go. He can't do anything." Chrono said, stepping in and prying Rosette's fingers from the angel's wings. Grey leapt to his feet, glowering at the girl, but again. Chrono remained in between them. "He can't do anything Rosette, because he can't decide who to help; his master, Superior or his love, Golden." The angel choked.

"I am not in love with Golden!" he sputtered, making Rosette grin.

"Suuuurrreeee you're not."

"Yeah? Well, he fell in love with you, and look where it got you both. One's a human and the other's a demon on the brink of death."

"I'm not that close to dieing." Chrono pointed out. "I still have some time. But more importantly," Rosette gasped as he twined his fingers with hers. "Even knowing what I'm doing, and what will happen to me because of it, I wouldn't change anything, even if it means I'm about to cease existing." Rosette felt her face burn as his words sank in, setting her insides aflame. He- had he just said-

"Why you!" Whack!

"Ow! He-ey!" Did he always have to say stuff like that around other people? Stupid idiot! Chrono sent her a sulky look but his hand had tightened, warming her fingers. Grey looked between the two of them, shaking his head.

"I don't see what you two see in each other, but I guess it wouldn't matter, even if I did." he hopped out of Rosette's reach and took off, leaving the pair to their own devices for awhile.

"Chrono?" Rosette raised her head from where she'd been huddled against his back, happy she wasn't the one leaning into the wind. "Did you mean what you said?" She dropped her head to his back again, listening to his heart pounding away. "You're shivering. Are you cold?" It was a stupid question, seeing as even though it was snowing, he was still only wearing one of those baggy sweaters of his. He had to be cold.

"Yes." She waited a couple seconds, but he didn't elaborate.

"Yes what?" she prompted.

"Yes I'm cold." Rosette felt her heart plummet.

"Oh." she attempted to smile, after all, here she could save herself further embarrassment with her acting abilities, right?

"And no, I wouldn't change anything." Chrono cut the engine and helped her off. "Arg. I hope the kids aren't too hungry. It's already six thirty."

"What time do you have to be down there for?" Rosette trailed after him, yelping as he whirled and caught her arm.

"Careful, black ice. It's nasty stuff."

"You don't have to treat me like a child."

"I'm not." Chrono kicked the snow off his shoes and dropped his sopping sneakers by the door.

"You should be wearing boots."

"I'm fine." he strolled into the kitchen, his hair curling at the tips as it dried. "Hey guys, how was your- whoa!" Rosette winced as there was a loud thump from the kitchen, followed by the jumble of varied-pitched voices jabbering about something. Smiling, she crept to the door and leaned against the jam, watching as Chrono was buried under an avalanche of kids.

"Uncle Chrono!"

"There was a strange lady-"

"Father came today, looking-

"Kino! Shut up when I'm talkin'!"

"No you can it! She wanted-"

"Father said-"

"Whoa!" Chrono sat up, trying to get them to calm down. "Okay, you lot sit at the table while I make supper, and you can all talk- one at a time that is. Now then." Chrono strode to the counter, pulling a covered container out of the fridge. "So. What happened today that has you all up in a tizzy?" Rosette took the cutting board he handed her and started slicing bread as once again the kids started talking all at once.

"Shut up already!" Kye snapped, apologising quickly at a stern glance from Chrono. "Sorry. Anyway-"

"Father showed up today, looking for Rosette. Apparently she was supposed to stay and help with the set after school and didn't, so he wasn't to happy about that." Marie said, kicking Kye's leg.

"And some missus showed up too, with weird hair. She was looking for you, Uncle Chrono." Ben added. "And Nina lost a tooth."

"I's dith!" The girl bounced up, grinning to show the gap.

"Whoo. That's a big one. What'd you do with it?" Chrono asked, bending over.

"I'ths puts ith unner my pillow!" Nina said proudly. "My firstsh toof!"

"So, who was the woman who came?" Rosette asked quietly, handing Chrono the bread. "Did she leave her name?"

"No." Kye answered around a mouthful of bread. "She said- glomp- that she needed to speak with Chrono, then she went down to Austy's to find you. Did you see her?"

"Hm. I don't know. No one came over to talk, except for Tina, Claire and Rosette." Chrono mussed, giving Tawny a plate of macaroni. "I dunno, did you see anyone Rose-"

"I can't believe you! What do you mean?" They all jumped as the door banged open and Satella barged in, Viede behind her.

"I mean what I said stupid!" Satella snarled, her hair bouncing around her shoulders. "I'm sorry, but I don't think things are working, so, good bye."

"I don't-"

"Viede, I just said we're through!"

"Yah? Well, I wouldn't want to go out with someone who's got more dollars then sense anyway!"

"You're calling me stupid?!"

"Frivolous too!"

"You- you-"

"Ooh! Stuttering now!"

"Shut up Mr. Books! You love Shakespeare more than you do me!"

"He had more soul then you do!"

"Enough." Both combatants froze as Chrono came between them, his arms crossed. "That's enough." he repeated quietly.

"Oh you're one to talk!" Satella snapped. "You and your girlfriend Blondie over there! You're always fighting! But anyway, this is different!" she turned her back to both men. "We're through." That said, she stalked up the stairs, followed by Viede who muttered something about idiot woman.

"Hm. It appears I'm going to have to get the stairs redone again." Chrono noted. "That round probably left lasting damage."

"You think they actually broke up?" Rosette asked, coming up behind him.

"I dunno." he started clearing the table of the dishes the kids had abandoned. "They aren't a couple that fight a lot. She's outgoing and he's not. They're opposites, but they do cover all bases together. However." He started the water by the sink. "I don't think there's much of a spark, if you know what I mean." He joined her at the table, shaking soap from his hands as he sat across from her.

"Yeah..." Rosette studied the cracks in the table. It was so well worn, but yet they always came back to it to share their meals again. She ran her finger along a groove.

"Azzy broke up with Brad, by the way." She looked up, he looked out the window, resting his chin on his hand. "I have a feeling she's likely going to ask Jake to come to the next school dance. Or maybe just out for hot chocolate."

"I see." Rosette tried to pry her eyes away from the line of his profile, but it really wasn't working, especially not with what Satella had said ringing in her ears. Chrono glanced at her quickly, without turning his head, chewing on his lip. "Chrono, do you think we fight a lot?"

"Verbally or physically?" Whack! He grinned as she dropped back into her seat, glowering across the table at him. "I wouldn't..." he fell silent, staring out the window. "Yes." He said after a moment. "I suppose we do fight a bit. But...most of the time, I don't really think we mean it. It's more like we're testing each other."

"You sound like you've thought about this a lot." Rosette teased, fluttering her eyelashes overdramatically. "Do you have a little crush on me?" Chrono snorted and pushed away from the table as if wanting to leave, but stopped, walking over to the window.

"I only asked Mary out four months before she died, you know." Rosette blinked, confused. He was talking weird again! "She committed suicide on our anniversary."

"Huh?" Confused, she watched him, staring out the window, his arms folded tight to his chest.

"Hm?" He jumped, looking back at her. "Oh. Sorry. Look, Rosette-" he bit his lip, coming back and sitting beside her. "Rosette-"

DING dong! Chrono dropped his hands to the table, glaring at the front hall as the doorbell rang again. "Aw sassafras. COMING! I got to go anyway if I intend to be on time." The doorbell rang a third time and he went to get it, snagging his sweater and sneakers as he did. "Hi?" He opened the door, ducking aside as the wind blew a frosted breath of snow in. "Can I help you?"

"Yes." Rosette frowned, coming out of the kitchen. "I'm looking for a Miss Rosette Christov."

"She's here. Rosette!" He backed out of the way, tugging on his sweater. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" Rosette nodded absently, scowling at the woman standing in the doorway. Chrono hesitated on the porch for a moment, his face concerned until she waved him off, watching for a minute until he was out of earshot before shutting the door behind the woman and glaring at her.

"What are you doing here Heather?"

A/N: And that's chapter 46. So, what does Heather want? If she's come for Chrono, why'd she let him go? Was the set the only reason Aion showed up? Who knows? I'm sorry this chapter took so long. I was a bad girl, reading ff in between chapters. Baaaaad Sneko. However, I will try not to do that this time so I can update sooner.


	47. Heaven Fell From The Sky Tonight

A/n: Hi guys! Waah! (dives behind computer to hide) Look, I'm sorry I had no contest last chapter, but I had good reason! Y'see, so long as I have these contests, I can't start writing the chapter until I have all the answers in, and that means I can't start for at least THREE DAYS so think about it! If I do it that way, them I'll never be able to update quickly because it takes about four days to write a chapter! You see where this is going? So no, I may not do anymore contests, but people will still get chapters. For example, this chapter goes out to **Olynara Sedai** for pointing out that I didn't include a contest in this (last) chapter. See how easy it is? Now then, onto the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade

Chapter 47 (Whoot!)

_"Is something wrong Grey?" The angel looked up from his pacing and tried to smile at Golden._

_"No! No ma'am nothin's wrong with me!" He grinned but let it drop when he saw the look on her face. So much for that plan. "Alright, you got me." Brushing his silver feathers from his black velvet coat, the angel sank down onto Golden's bed. "I went to Earth today." He waited, expecting shock._

_"You did? I went yesterday." Golden smiled happily. "I um...attempted to give them a push in the right direction." Grey blinked, staring at her._

_"You defied Superior again?"_

_"Darn right I did." Golden smirked. "Chrono's not going to disappear if I can help it!" The glowing angel paused, looking at him. "What about you?" He gulped. _

_"Who? Me? I suppose I'll help-" Golden laughed, giving him a push. _

_"Silly! I meant what did you do? If you're still so unsure, you don't have to side with me, you know." Grey blushed, but he said nothing. How could he not side with her, yet how could he turn from Superior? Carefully, he peeked at her from beneath his mane of silver hair. What was he supposed to do? Well, he'd already made his choice...hadn't he?_

_"I went to Earth, today." Grey sprawled back across satin blankets and fingered the long white drapes. "And I spoke with Chrono." Beside him, Golden stretched, her hair spilling over the pillow beside him. Grey held up a pair of the strands, one of his, one of hers and studied them; sun and moon. It was true, wasn't it? _

_"You know it's forbidden for an Angel to speak with a human."_

_"He can see us. It isn't breaking the law then." he rolled over, facing her, taking her hands in his. So small... "The girl. Rosette. She can see us too." He croaked, his voice suddenly hoarse. "Do you know what that means?" Golden bowed her head onto their fingers._

_"You don't?" _

_Grey shook his head to the negative. _

_"Chrono was one of the high angels. He was cast from heaven through to the lower gates. He's a hybrid of 'demon' soul and angelic powers._

_"When an angel dies, which by our nature is impossible, our powers must go to another. As Chrono dies, his powers will leech into those around him, so the closer he is to death, the weaker his powers will be." Golden shut her eyes. "It's horrible, all of it." She whispered. "That Superior would play this game."_

_"I don't understand why Father let's him." Grey murmured, smoothing her hair. Golden laughed._

_"You think God is letting this go? This meddling of lives? Of human and Angel boundaries?" she sputtered._

_"He isn't?" Golden leaned over him._

_"Why do you think I'm here?"_

"The hell are you doing here?" Rosette spat, backing Heather up to the door.

"What does it look like?" The woman pushed free and wandered into the living room. "Chro decorate this place?" She scanned the room, picking up a book. "For a tight budget, it's not bad. He's a resourceful kid."

"He's not a kid." Rosette warned, following as the woman continued to stroll around the room, fingering curtains and upholstery.

"No." Heather admitted. "He's not." She continued into the spotless but warm kitchen and inspected the pictures on the fridge. "I hear he's a good cook, from those brats." She glanced at the closed door. "Who think the world of him, by the way."

"Who wouldn't, if they knew what he did." Rosette retorted, leaning on the cupboards. Heather looked up from the rack of drying dishes and met her eyes, calculating.

"Indeed."

Heather paused, her hand on the basement door as if hesitating before she opened it and slipped downstairs, Rosette at her heels. "He still loves music." She noted as they went into the downstairs living room, a faded version of the one upstairs.

"Well, yah." Rosette shrugged, unable to think of anything else to say. Heather went to the corner and pulled a sheet off the tall dark shape in the corner, tossing the thin cloth onto a chair.

"That's not the only thing he loves." Heather added, running her hands over the stand up piano. "Man, he must've loved this thing, but judging by the dust-"

"He doesn't play it." Heather's head snapped up as Marie came in, her arms folded. "He stopped playing it when Mary died, because they saved up for it together and bought it together. It was theirs." Rosette felt her heart squeeze.

"You should be in bed Marie." The girl snorted, stomping back to her room as the two older women went back to the kitchen. "Are you finished here now? If you are, leave, let Chrono be. He deserves a chance to live." Heather kept her back to her.

"That's not what you told me earlier. You said he aught to have a chance to love too."

"He should." Rosette watched her move to the front door, opening it.

"Then, Rosette, I'll trust that his heart's safe in your hands. He's only got a little while left, and he likes you. I know it's hard, but could you fake it for a bit?"

"What!!!" Rosette stared at the woman, shock on her face. "You-"

"Look, Chrono's madly in love with you, so it won't hurt to fake it for a few months...you don't mind, do you? So long as you don't break his heart it'll keep him happy...and out of the hospital." Heather smirked. "What'd'ya say?" Rosette swallowed, clenching her fists.

"I say-"

"Rosette!" A car skidded to a stop on the ice out front and Tina leaned out the window. "Rosette!"

"Not now! Anyway, Heather, I won't-" Darn! Of all the-

"Rosette! There's a fire down at Austy's!"

"That's not-" Rosette dropped the snowball she'd been making to throw at the other teen and shoved past Heather, running up to the rusted Toyota.

"What! How bad-" Claire shoved the door open.

"Screw the questions Christov and get in!" Rosette yelped as Heather forced herself in beside her.

"Austy's? That's where-"

"Chrono is." Tina narrowed her eyes at Heather. "Who're you?"

"His sister, now go!" Rosette snapped, her hand having found it's way to her collar as they skidded down Bradford street, sliding on the fresh snow that frosted everything in glowing clarity. _She couldn't breath. _

Snap out of it Rosette! She hissed, giving herself a mental kick. _Flick flick flicker. It was hot._ Up Trend street, down across Melvin's avenue. _Flick flick flicker._

"No..." shaking her head to clear it, she tried to focus on spotting the fire. _It was so hot...burning...IT BURNED. It singed her hair as she backed into a corner. She was trapped! Where was he? Where- _a tower of flames snatched at the clouds like fingers of hell trying to drag down escaped souls, a ruby in a diamond centre.

"Chrono!" Rosette jumped from the car as it slowed, slipping on the icy side walk as she tried to force her way through the gathering crowd.

"Get out of the way!"

"Hey!" Shoving a guy aside, she froze, staring at the mountain of flame that seemed to have spurted from the roof of the club. Where was he? She turned, probing each face in the crowd while sirens howled, the trucks blaring their horns.

_He wasn't there._

"Chrono?!" Brad, Tina, Claire, Jake, Az. He wasn't there! Rosette turned her eyes back to the building as it spat fire from its windows. He couldn't be...

"Chrono's not here, Rosette!" Tina yelled, running over. "He's- Rosette! Rosette don't!"

_I'm coming!_ Rosette clenched her teeth, kicking open the door and charging into the smoke hazed hell of the club.

I'm coming for you!

Tina swore, falling back a step. "Rosette!"

"What's going on! Where's Rosette!" Claire grabbed her arm.

"She went-" both girls screamed, clinging to each other as the building groaned, it's flanks shuddering.

"What's going on?" Brad jogged over, wheezing, as a fire fighter lurched past and into the inferno.

"Rosette's inside!"

"Rosette!?!" The trio looked up at Aion as he stormed over. "You mean that Rosette? My Rosette?"

"If Chrono heard you laying claim to Rosette like that," Tina growled, "You would not be standing there."

"He wouldn't do anything." Aion shrugged. "He's a very...cooperative child."

"I'd hardly call him cooperative Aion, nor a child. Neither is that girl." Heather stalked up to Aion, glowering. "Anyway, why the hell are you here-" There was a crash from inside and the windows belched out cinders, sending the crowd scuttling back. A police officer tried to push them back still further, for the fire trucks couldn't get through the choked street. The building groaned again, swaying, dieing.

"Move back!" The flames flickered, cackling across the emotions of the crowd: fear, excitement, shock, relief, terror, worry. "Move back!"

Flick flick. Anger; tears.

Flick flick; wringing hands.

Flick flick. "Move back! Someone's going to get hurt!"

Flick flick. Flames bit the sky, their glowing off-spring scuttling across the asphalt, zinging through the night; a billion hell sent shooting stars.

Flick flick, a group of screaming friends, waiting, hoping.

Flick flick. "Move back!" the voice panicked now. "Let the trucks through!"

Flick flick, a cloaked man laughed in glowing red.

Flick flick, the building croaked again, swaying, falling.

"No! Move!" Crack!

Flicker flick, shapes in the flames, screaming ends.

Flicker, flick, some meet again, some never met.

Flick flick flicker, screaming wood falls, hunks of decaying flesh.

Flicker flick, it dies in hell.

Flicker flick. One must start to end.

Flick flick, the building keels over, screams arise.

Flicker flicker, one must end to start.

Flicker flick flick. Some things end before they begin

Flicker flick, fade to darkness.

Flick flick flicker, die in light.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------End chapter 47------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Well, there y'are. The end...of chapter 47. Anyway...where did you guys go? Ooh, you need a contest to review then? FINE! And you can yell at me for this chapter if you want. I know it's short and weird. Especially the ending (which is supposed to be confusing).

McB: Sneko! Can it!"

Sneko: Whatever! Anyway, a contest...ok! The title for this chapter comes from a song. What song is it and who's it by?

McB: You don't even know that!

Sneko: Yes I do! But I could find out if I didn't! Good luck!


	48. Burns and Temptation

A/n: Hi guys! What's up? Well, we have three winners in this chapters contest...Denko Okami, Tsukita and Mooglequeen, who all knew the line was from Five for Fighting's Infidel! Hurrah! Here's your chapter guys!

Oh! one more thing. The ending of the last chapter was SUPPOSED to be confusing! It took place during the fire...but you'll see now in a few lines.

Disclaimer: I don't own cc. Never had, never will, but that's fine!

Chapter 48

_Flicker flick, fade to darkness_

_Flick flick flicker, die in light._

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_Golden leapt up. "Grey!" Stumbling, bleary eyed, the second angel staggered to the edge of the cloud, choking on smoke as he peered over. "Grey, they're inside! Can you do something! Grey!" The blonde angel grabbed his arm, her face pale. " Grey-"_

_"I can't! I only have power of a soul's form! I can't affect them while they're alive! My power only works on the dead!"_

_"That isn't true!" Golden wailed. "No!" She screamed at the sneering fire below. "You can't end it like this Superior!" She wailed, dropping to her knees. "You can't..." Grey stiffened as the air behind them shifted, a sense of approach washing the smoke greyed cloud._

_HE was coming._

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It was hot! Rosette fell back against the door, her breath trapped in her breast by burning claws. "Chr-Chrono!" She managed to croak out around a gasp of smoke. "Chrono!" There was a crash from further in, sparks filling the air as a beam fell. "Chrono!" She had to get out! The main room was a sea of fire. There was no way he was alive, even if he was here! "Chrono!" Rosette pulled her shirt over her mouth, crawling further in. "Chrono, where are you!" Around her, the room shivered in the hell-light, the building howling, teetering on it's feet. "Chrono!" Sweat flooded into her eyes, smoke making them water. He was gone, Chrono was dead, if he was inside; and he hadn't been outside; she'd looked.

Which meant he was already dead.

He wasn't! He couldn't be!

Inching around the smouldering remains of the counter, she peeked into the kitchen, only to be blinded by red brilliance. "Aug!" she stumbled backward, narrowly avoiding a burning patch as she fell flat to the floor, the ceiling creaking above her.

CRACK! She screamed as the beam plunged, taking huge portions of the ceiling with it.

"Rosette!" her head snapped forward as Chrono hauled her back from beneath the hail of roasting splinters, crouching beside her. "Rosette you idiot!" he snarled, pulling her aside as a third beam fell. "The door!"

"You- you're not dead!" He had a burn on his cheek; she noticed; it was turning bright red and shiny.

"Not yet!" he yanked her to her feet, racing for the back door behind the stage. "Down!" Her nose was reacquainted with the floor as he curled over her, sparks showering over his shoulders.

"You idiot! What were you doing in here anyway!" Rosette yelled, helping him up as they crouched under a support that'd fallen against the wall. "Don't you know that you don't play with fire?"

"You aren't supposed to go back into a burning building either!" Chrono retorted, his face glistening, glowing red as he grabbed for the door, yelping as he burned his hand.

"You're supposed to get out as fast as you can stupid!" Rosette shoved him aside and aimed a kick (Rosette style) at the door, glaring at Chrono as he ducked behind her, shielding her from the sandstorm of cinders that fell with most of the ceiling.

"Rosette-" his face went white and he grabbed her, leaping towards the door and twisting so he was under her when it gave way and they skidded across the back ally parking lot. "Run!" The stumbled up the hill as the building below shrieked and gave out, a peacock's tail of glowing embers raining down upon the surrounding area.

Rosette stopped, choking on her breath. "I...we..." a tremor ran through her as she looked down at the smouldering mass, at the gathered crowd, the fire trucks, heard the screams... Chrono pulled her further away, his chest heaving.

"You...stupid...idiot!" he wheezed, circling them around to bring them back towards the others, wavering dizzily on his feet. "I can't believe-"

"Chrono! Rosette!" At that moment Az saw them and they were separated, washed apart by the flow of rescuers, terrified friends, panicking kids...Rosette barely caught sight of Chrono being swamped by the kids as she was hustled into an ambulance to be treated for the burns which she couldn't remember getting.

"Chrono!" She thought she heard him call back to her, but then the door closed and she lost sight of him, surrounded by the paramedics. "Hey wait! My friend-" she tried to yell, but her voice wasn't working, and her vision grew fuzzier. "Chro..."

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_The flames flicked, devouring the room around her, reducing it to a glowing mass of blackened posts and crumbling rubble as she tried to run for the door._

_"Rosette!" She stopped and turned, spotting Chrono who'd been caught by a beam. "Rosette, look out!" She jumped aside as another beam fell, the air full of tiny stars. "The door! Hurry!"_

_"But-" she ran towards him, the heat washing her skin in sweat. "Chrono!" Part of the wall caved in, blocking her way. "Chrono!" Ignoring her burning hands, she pulled at the rubble until someone scooped her up._

_"You poor fool. Can't you see he's gone?" Aion smiled grimly. "He was a fool." The tall man strode across the room to the door, the flames parting for him. "Come with me, Rosette, angel. Leave the devil for his own."_

_"No! Chrono!" She twisted in the man's arms as she was swept through the door. "Chrono!" she howled as the building rattled, glass shattered, flames roared, earth moaned, crowd screamed, the burning bar collapsed. "Chrono! Chrono!" He wasn't dead, he couldn't be, somewhere, in there he had to be alive! He had to be! "Let me go! Chrono!" She screamed and screamed, until the fire went out, screamed and screamed as the paramedics tried to pull her away from the smouldering mountain, screamed and screamed as the fire fighters pulled the blackened-_

"Rosette." _the doctor's patted a damp cloth to her cheek, but it didn't matter! Chrono-_

"Rosette."_ He was dead! The realization froze her burning bones and she slumped-_

"Rosette." _He was gone! He'd...she'd let him down! She'd-_

"I'm right here, Rosette." Rosette opened her eyes, running her night gowned arm over them to clear her sleep blurred vision.

"Chro...Chrono?" He nodded, his bandaged fingers pushing her hair back.

"In the flesh." Puzzled, she looked around the room, taking in the clothes strewn across the floor, the school books scattered over the desk...the script on the shelf...she peered at the comforter and found it was hers.

"I'm home." she reached over and touched the burn on his cheek. "You- you're not dead." a laugh that sounded horribly close to tears left her and she dropped her hands back onto the pillow. "Chrono!" Suddenly she was sobbing, unable to stop herself.

"Hey..." she lurched against him and clung, pressing her face to the soft beating in his chest, letting it wash the fear from her as he whispered to her; soft things she couldn't hear. Sometime later, she realized she'd stopped crying, that she was simply lying with him, just listening to the patter of their hearts.

For now, that was ok...

---------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------- --- - - - - - - - ----------------------------------------------------------------

_Light...fire- Chrono!_ Rosette opened her eyes, rubbing at them absently as she glanced at the clock. Still only two in the morning. Still more time to sleep... she rolled over to do so, but instead she ran into an obstacle.

A warm, breathing, violet-haired obstacle.

WHACK!

"What are you doing in here!" she screeched, hugging the pillow to her as she realized her nightgown was sheer. "Pervert!" Chrono glowered at her, rubbing the lump, but he moved back if reluctantly.

"I thought..." he glanced away, his hands clasped in his lap. "You were having a bad dream, and you were calling for me, so..."

"And you heard me, all the way in the basement?" he turned an appealing shade of red.

"Well..." She smirked, propping her head on her arm as she stretched out. Absently he pulled the blankets over her, busily chewing on his lip.

"Well?" she pushed. He ducked his head.

"Well, I might have been in here anyway, checking on you, because I was worried."

"But you knew I was here." the bed springs creaked as he stood, not looking at her.

"You knew we both made it out of there. It doesn't make your dreams any safer." Chrono slipped to the door and she bolted upright, feeling suddenly that if she lost sight of him, he would vanish like a ghost.

"Wait! I didn't want you to..." to her relief, he came back and stood by the bed. "You can sit." Avoiding his eyes, she picked up his hand and studied the burn on it. "You're an idiot, you know. For grabbing the door."

"You're an idiot for being in there. Speaking of which-" he turned, catching both her hands. "What _were_ you doing in there anyways?" Rosette frowned.

"What the hell do you think I was doing! I went in to get YOU!" Chrono's mouth opened, leaving him gaping at her.

"You..." he groaned, dropping his forehead to her shoulder and pressing them both to the bed. "Fucking hell! I almost got you killed, and I wasn't even _there._" Rosette lay, frozen, feeling something cold and wet slide across her skin.

He was crying. She sat up slightly, staring. Quickly, realization of where he was seemed to hit him and Chrono jumped back, scrubbing his face.

"What do you mean you 'weren't there'?" She braided her hair back from her face and pulling her covers up again. "Of course you were."

"Not when you first went in." he croaked, his hands over his mouth like he was going to be sick. Now that she looked, he did look sick. "I was at the school trying to get the wires fixed for your practice. Aion was there and...then I knew I had to be at Austy's. You were in trouble. Well, I guess you were going to be. By the time I was there, you were already inside. After me." he shook his head. "Rosette, I-" he drew a shuddering breath. "Right. I guess..." he stood up. "I-"

"Don't go." Rosette pulled him back onto the bed again and made him lie beside her again. "So..." she played with his bangs to avoid looking at him directly. "You went in there...because..."

"You were in danger." Rosette smiled sleepily, rolling over so her back was snugly against his chest.

"Chrono?"

"Yes?"

"Will you wake me up if I have a bad dream? Like of kissing Aion?" She looked back and smiled, laughing as he made a face.

"Hmm. Maybe I won't wake you up and I'll just go into your dream and send my brother where he belongs." She did laugh then, until she thought of something else as she drifted off.

"How'd we get back here?"

"Mr. Remington..." _A trio of young woman left a huge, grey cinder building and clambered into a compact, bickering over where to go for dinner after the concert that night._

_"I vote on the Emerald Palace. All you can eat." Said the blonde who was quickly shoved out of the drivers seat by a red head. "You can eat all you want!"_

_"Ug! That's just like you Rose!" A thin brunette in a tank top complained. "Always concentrating on food. And let Russell drive. We've got to get to the concert on time for our act or we'll never get our story."_

_"Look, if it weren't for the fact that the Hear the Muse-ic is dieing, I'd be totally against this." Rosette grumbled, fixing her sunglasses. _

_"Yah yah." Russell shrugged. "You say you want nothing to do with music, yet you're the main reporter. Why's that?"_

_"I'm not really interested, but someone has to keep the paper going."_

_"Shut up!" Kate squealed, poking her. "We work too! I mean, come on. Who's idea was it to go undercover as a band."_

_"Russell's, or course. But I don't even like this guy." Russell groaned, pulling into the parking lot of the stadium._

_"Look, we had to take this trip, on the stupid ferry and across this whole stinking province just to get this story. We've got to try!"_

_"Whatever. I know." Rosette growled, grabbing her guitar. Damn but she was grumpy! Must come with being here again! Slamming the trunk, she slung her bag over her shoulder, looking around the familiar streets of St. John's._

_Five years. _

_It had been five years since she'd left._

_"Rosette, hurry up!" Unaware of the memories dragging her down, the other two girls ran up the steps and looked around the stadium where they'd be performing. Kate, flipping out at someone one her cell, yelped as she walked into a package laden guy, sending his boxes all over the floor. "Watch where you're going!" Kate shrieked as Rosette bent to pick up a box, which rattled ominously._

_"Sounds broken." She said apologetically, handing it to him. _

_"Sassafras! The Big One's going to kill me! I'm already late." Her head snapped up and she hauled off her glasses. Had he just..."Rosette?"_

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Chrono lay, staring at the snoring girl, guilt squishing his heart. _"What the hell do you think I was doing? I went in to get YOU!"_ But he hadn't been there! He'd barely been at Austy's for five minutes before Aion had called, 'requesting' that he fix the wiring in the gym because there'd been some problems with it during the last practice. After that, he'd been at the school, until he'd had the sudden flash of terror and known he had to get to Austy's. "I'm so sorry." he could have gotten her killed! Again! What kind of boy- he halted himself at that. "I'm sorry." Carefully as he could, so he didn't wake her and evoke her wrath, he pressed a light kiss to her cheek...

"My my, isn't this cute!"

A/N: And that's my chapter! It turns out the page breaks I put in weren't working on the sight, so I've tried something else. If it doesn't work, let me know. - Happy reading!


	49. Wake up

A/n: Hi! Welcome to the 49th! Chapter of NTNP. (Falls over) Good grief. I must be insane for writing this much...or just enjoying telling the miscellaneous adventures of a demon and a nun who must fight the passage of time. I'm sorry if this is late. At the time I'm writing this, I'm panicking because I have two assignments due tomorrow...and you're asking why I don't do them now? Because right now is my writing time. The world could end between 6:10 and 7:45 am, but that's when I write, regardless of anything else. I do my homework after school, from 4:00 to fin. everyday. Anyway! The girl will stop complaining about homework and get her butt onto the writer's seat!

Disclaimer: I've been forgetting this over and over, but you aught to know by the 49th chapter anyway.

Chapter 49

_Golden leaned over the cloud, her wings fluttering franticly as Grey clung to her shoulders to stop her from racing down to earth. They couldn't interfere! It was against the laws of heaven!_

_"Golden, look, we tried! If they're in there, there's nothing we can do!"_

_"No! You don't understand Grey!" The sobbing girl screamed. "You haven't spent lifetimes watching two people fighting for a love that, no matter how hard they tried, was stripped away! You haven't seen it, felt it!" Grey took a step back in shock, his hands raised as if that could placate the angel with the gesture, but it made no effect on the hell-lit angel. _

_"Golden, come on!" Grey warned as she spread her wings, their gold colour turned orange by the fire._

_"No Grey." she spat, "You go on! Go back to your precious Superior. That's what you want, isn't it? You aren't even willing to try and save your own little brother!" Grey froze, his mouth open but the words dead in his mouth as a presence brushed by him, leaving cool air in its wake. Instantly, Grey dropped to his knees as He stood at the edge of the cloud and surveyed the flaming building below, His hands clasped lightly behind His back._

_"Now then." Golden gasped as He spoke, dropping her clenched fists. "What's the problem, children?" He gestured at the fire below. "Golden, before you go flying off to rescue your brother, and before you scare Grey away with false accusations- a bad idea as he's rather fond of you- you may want to remember that Chrono and Rosette are both my children too. And, don't forget, Chrono was an angel."_

_"But-" The Father silenced the angel with a stern look. _

_"Golden, take a look at the building."_

_"I AM! It's going to collapse any minute!" Grey crept over, making sure to stand behind both higher angels, and peered over, noticing an odd aura around the fire. _

_"The fabric of time around the fire! It's bent!"_

_"What?" Golden grabbed Grey's arm as the Lord stepped aside with a small smile on his face. "What do you mean-" but he didn't have to explain, for then she noticed the small bends that had frozen the flames around the most important beams, stopping them from falling. "How..."_

_"Chrono may be a demon because he was cast out of heaven," Grey whispered. "but apparently his powers are still there, even if he doesn't know it."_

_"Granted, his powers were weakened." God added quickly, pointing as one of the warps disappeared. "He won't be able to keep that up for long." Golden gasped as another, then another warp vanished. "However." She followed the direction of the pointing hand as a pair of figures raced from the building as it fell. _

_"They..." Golden stared, gaping as her Father patted her shoulder._

_"Perhaps, a particular pair of guardian angels might have interfered too much." The highest of angels strolled away, pausing for a moment to look back at them. "Golden, you must remember that the reason I allowed Time to be cast out was so he could learn to see through his own eyes and say what he saw. He mustn't fear superior when Time comes. Now then, I'd suggest you let them work things out for themselves, eh Fate?" With that, the Lord left the two dumbfounded angels as he left, wondering what Feast had prepared for dinner._

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"My my, isn't this cute." Rosette's eyes snapped open and she sat up, squinting as morning sunlight streamed into her eyes.

"Ow! Aw man it's waaaay too early!" She blinked, noticing Satella standing in the doorway, smirking; Azmaria at her side.

"And why is it too early?" The woman grinned suggestively. "Did you have...fun with your company last night?" Company? Rosette turned her head, noticing for the first time that she wasn't alone in the bed. And that she'd practically sprawled herself all over him. Oops.

"What- aug!" Squealing, she jumped back, tripping as she scrambled out of the tangled of warmed blankets. "Chrono!"

"Get him up will you!" Heather stuck her head into the room. "We've got my sweetest big bro pounding on the door down there!"

"Heather?" Rosette sputtered before she went to hit Chrono over the head.

Then she stopped. He looked so relaxed for once. No one deserved to wake up in the morning to face Aion without at least a cup of coffee.

"Hey Rosette," Ms. Harvenhiet waved as she passed. "You two have fun last night?"

"IT WASN'T LIKE THAT! CHRONO! GET THE HELL UP!"

Whack! The other girls fled before Rosette the Terror could turn her rage on them once her first victim staggered out of bed.

"Do you realize they'll never let me live this down?" Rosette hissed as few minutes later as she stomped into the kitchen, finding him scrambling eggs. "I mean come on! By noon, half the school's population will know that-"

"Firstly; you can just ask them not to say anything. Secondly; if you wanted me to leave, you could've said something." Chrono pointed out, tugging at his collar with a finger as he tipped up the pan and let some of the eggs slither onto her plate. "Here you go."

"But I didn't want you to leave." Rosette said in foodish as Chrono continued to plate up eggs. She was distracted momentarily as he paused by the window and was set aglow with sunlight.

"Then there shouldn't be a problem, should there?" she shook her head as he came over, humming.

"Isn't this an interesting conversation." Aion smiled cheerily as he strolled into the room and dropped into the chair beside Rosette. "Good morning brother; Rosette."

"What do you want Aion." Chrono sighed, flicking on the radio. Ironically, Blood Brothers was playing so he turned it off and put water into the frying pan before joining them at the table.

"My Chrono, you don't even sound particularly accusing this morning. Are you tired?"

"Not really." The violet haired teen shrugged, dropping into a chair with a yawn.

"Good then. I thought maybe your little...trip last night might've worn you out." Aion glanced sympathetically at Rosette, grabbing her hands. "Did he force you into it, dear? There are steps that can be taken, of course, so don't worry." She looked blankly at him.

"Steps for what?" Aion set his glass down with a flourish.

"Why for rape, dear. I heard about it this morning! Granted," the tanned man cast a glance at the younger boy. "With his reputation and all, it really was only a matter of time, but when I heard-"

"He didn't rape me. We just slept together." Rosette shrugged, ignoring Aion's grin, and carrying her dishes to the counter. She glared Heather as she came in, twisting her wet hair into a knot. "Chrono, why is she here?"

"She is my sister." Chrono shrugged. "She's in town for awhile and needed somewhere to crash." Aion perked up.

"Ah! Well then, I guess that means I can sta-"

"No you cannot." Chrono said sharply. "And you've said nothing on your supposed reason for coming, which was to "check" on Rosette after the fire. Now, if you will please leave, I have-"

"You have what Chrono?" The silver haired man put his hand up to his ear. "Do you have work? Nooooo, you got fired and your other job doesn't exist anymore. What are you going to do, Chrono? How are you going to raise six kids like that, little failure?" Chrono winced, but his face was set.

"That's why I ended up with the brains in the family, 'Brother'."

"Brains that told you do drop out of school. Oh yes, very smart. Condemn yourself to flipping burgers for the rest of your night. Oh wait. I forgot you can't do that either, without a high school diploma. My, my. What shall you do. Maybe you can get another job at a bar. You've a good voice and you're fairly pretty. Perhaps you can find 'something' to sel-"

"Shut up!" Rosette whacked Aion over the head. "You idiot! They're your kids, but I wouldn't let them anywhere near you! Chrono and I'll figure out how to make ends meet, and you just keep out of it! He asked you to leave, so do so."

"Ah, Miss Christov. But it's such a comfortable atmosphere here, wouldn't you agree? Anyway, my little brother is right. How are you doing after that catastrophe? Me brother almost got my star killed. I don't appreciate that. We haven't very long until the final performance after all, and I have another school to go to after the mid terms."

"Rosette! We're going to be late!" Az bounced into the room, freezing for a moment as she spotted Aion. "Good morning Mr. Castov!" Ignoring the tension in the room, she grabbed Rosette's arm. "Come on! I want to talk to you!" Before Rosette could argue, Azmaria had pulled her from the room and out the door.

"I have to go now too Chrono." Heather waved goodbye before ducking down into the basement, leaving the brothers alone.

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"Is he gone?" Chrono looked up from the classifieds as Heather came into the room, dressed in a brown tunic shirt and jeans, her hair, now brown, flipped over her shoulder in a braid.

"Aion? Just left. Mmm. Experience needed. Hm, Does cooking for a boarding house count I wonder?"

"Job searching?" Heather seated herself across from him, pulling over the second page. "Ug. Pretty slim pickings kiddo."

"Don't call me that. I'm 16 now, not 6." he turned the page, fixing his glasses. "Shader says she might be able to get me a job, but they can't really afford to help me at the moment. I'll figure something out though. The kids are at school, if that's what you're going to ask. They spent the night at Ewan's."

"They spend a lot of time there, don't they?"

"He wants to adopt them."

"Chrono, you realize something Aion said was right, right? Without at least a high school diploma, you aren't going to be able to get a full time job."

"Yes. I know. Ooh! Sound technician...oops. Guess not."

"Then-"

"I can get two part time jobs if I have to Heather. I have to make enough money to care properly for the kids."

"And you? It's November and you're wearing a tee-shirt and jeans with a sweater for a coat. Chrono-"

"I know what's important, Heather." he said sharply, closing the classifieds and standing. "I've had a lot of help, and I'm trying. Yeah, I'm a screw up. I dropped out of school, I can't buy myself a coat. But are the kids starving? No. Are they freezing? No. Do they get to school? Yes. Do they get good marks and their homework done? Yes. Besides. We're all alive, aren't we?" He opened the fridge and sighed, seeing Rosette had forgotten her lunch again. Should he bring it up to her?

"Are you happy?"

"To be alive? Very."

"Are you happy with that life?"

"Erg! What are you getting at!" Chrono snapped, slamming the fridge door closed and turning, only to walk strait into Heather.

"I'm getting at the fact that you're scared out of your wits at the moment. I want to know why."

"I am not." He stalked to the front door, grabbing a sweater and his backpack.

"Chrono!" she caught his arm. "I'm a lawyer. I can help you out with this. I can-"

"You can what? There's no point in trying to get Aion to take the kids back." his eyes softened slightly. "They deserve better than him. Better than me too, quite frankly, but I can't abandon them. Anyway-" he turned the knob, holding up a handful of bills and the list of addresses. "I have a job to fi-" Heather shut the door, blocking his way, her hand cupping his chin, forcing him to look at her.

"Chrono, go back to school."

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"So what's this big news you have to tell me?" Rosette asked Azmaria as they left a trail of footprints in the cool white fluff on the ground behind them.

"Yes. You do seem rather excited." Fi noted, tightening her hold on Joshua's hand as he slipped, toppling into a pile of sludge the ploughs had dredged up from the road.

"Well, firstly," Az blushed. "I broke up with Brad. Actually, that happened a couple days ago, but it's been pretty busy."

"Oh Az! Don't fret about that!" Satella chuckled, slapping the smaller girl's back. "Men are assholes! Especially tall guys who like poetry." Azmaria turned a deeper shade of red.

"Actually, Satella..." she swallowed, fiddling with her mittens. "I...well, Jake asked me out."

"What!" Satella screeched. "Azmaria, how could you! You're siding with the enemy!"

"Men aren't enemies." Rosette snapped, rolling her eyes and dragging Azmaria away from Satella's vicious shaking. "Not all guys are jerks. I hope you and Jake will get on well together."

"We do- I mean, we will." the small girl hung her head. "But Rosette? The- the real reason I wanted you to walk with us was- was that I needed to get you out of the kitchen. I thought we should let Chrono sort things out with Aion and Miss Heather himself."

"What!" Rosette screech, whirling on the smaller girl. Joshua grabbed her arm.

"Rosette, Az is right. Chrono's family is screwed up and badly, but they're his family and his problem. Moreover, you don't really have anything to do with it."

"Yes I do!" the others all stared at her outburst. "I can't let him go through this alone." Furious, the blonde stuck her hands in her pockets and scuffed ahead, kicking up little balls of snow. "You don't understand."

"So it's serious then." Fi whispered, her breath making little clouds on the ice of the air as a car struggled up the hill.

"What's serious?" Rosette snapped moodily, flinging a snowball at the wall of the drycleaners. The others, not wanting to risk her wrath twice in one day, sensibly remained silent, even after they reached school and dripped their way to their respective classes.

Rosette sighed, settling in to her seat. They'd just wanted her out of Chrono's problems? What if he needed her help? She glanced at her schedule. Canadian history. All right, snooze ti-

"Please take out your pencils people," the teacher roared. "It's time for the test!" Test? Instantly Rosette remembered the test she'd been planning to study for the night of the fire, the one Chrono had been going to help her with; the one she needed a ninety five or higher on or she'd have to return home.

She'd completely forgotten.

"Crap!"

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A/N: Alright. Once again I didn't include a contest in this last chapter, so I will include a_ challenge_ in this one. A challenge, not a contest. I'd like to see as many people as possible review this chapter. Those who do...well, you'll have to wait for that. There are many of you who review each chapter, and I thank you. You don't know how much that it's meant to me. There are some of you who've only review once or twice, but you still took the time, so I thank you too.

The there are those of you who read but don't review. If you would please, even if it's only this once, review this chapter. Or, if you have no thoughts on this chapter alone, include a favourite part from the story so far. That's my challenge. I'd like EVERYONE who's reading this to post a review, including your favourite part. (The favourite part part is optional. The reviewing is not) Next chapter after this is chapter 50, and I have an important message, so I'd like to know who's reading. So, let me know, and let me know what you've liked in the part 49 chapters for the 50th chapter of NTNP. Alright, thank you!


	50. Friends, Fools, Familys and Fathers

A/N: Hello! Eee! It's chapter 50! (Stares stupidly at screen) well. This stories almost over, so I guess I won't hit the 75 mark...who'm I kidding! This rocks! I mean, come on, 50 CHAPTERS...sorry. I'm kinda happy about this. I'm so weird. But hey, weird comes with being creative, and if there were no creative people, there'd be no Chrono Crusade, Inu Yasha, Full Moon, Fruits Basket (Yes, this is essentially a list of my favourite manga/animes. What do you use for manga when there's more then one? Mangi? (Joking!!)) Right, well, this chapter, being the big five-oh, is going to have an extra long set of authors notes. You don't have to read them if you don't want to, but it's a list of the people this chapter is dedicated to. My thanks to everyone who's reviewed this story: Misogirl, Raspberrysorbet, davis45108, GlorysGirl4ever, BlueJellyFish, XdearestX, Silverwolf08, KitsuneKyuubi, KhainOnline, RosetteOfTheMagdalanOrder, Shadowneko003, JTN, ShadowStar74, Bella-Rose01, Lyra the Sorceress of Schol... , KonekoMiyabi, Amaya Hanyou, casui, Tsukita, rurico, Posh-kit, Olynara Sedai, IchikoKitsuneKoumori, Aenaisaigo no Tenshi, Anime-Dork, RosettexChrno143, Devil's Dark Dragon Angel, mooglequeen, collective2220, I33tskillz, whitegoldpheonix, Smite the Panda, Daphne-06, Korria, little-white-steamed-bun, windchaser90, Kite, Denko Okami, flys without wings, Eskimo-girl, gamergurl, Aquamy Crescent, Katie, kage.exe, Steffi-sama, harperslover, Riku54-Vincent's Demon, Tifa Hikari, Selphie Fan, Tsukiria, Alexis, Fantasytraveler, tay104, Sarah, Renevatio, and Mistr3ss. I've tried to include everyone who's reviewed this story, and if I've missed anyone, it's purely by accident! Some of you may not be reading anymore, and some just might have stopped reviewing, some of you are always reviewing and some reviewed for the first time. Either way, you all encouraged me to write more, and so I'm saying thank you!!!

Thank you!

LaPititeSnekochan & McB

P.S: the names are in the order you started reviewing the story in, from chapter one up through to 49, simply because I didn't want to miss anyone. Enjoy!

Chapter 50

"Rosette, please stop pacing!" Azmaria begged, tugging at her friend's sleeve as she stormed back and forth on the faded carpet, wearing holes in the mud brown cloth.

"Oh, leave her be." Satella snorted, dropping her high-heeled feet onto the immaculate library table and setting to work on her nails. "What do you think? Red or green?"

"This is no time to be thinking of your nails you witch!" The red haired woman shrieked, dropping her nail file as Rosette lunged over and gave her a noogie. "Your life isn't depending on a test which you forgot about and slept through the classes of! I didn't know ANYTHING on it!"  
"That made absolutely no sense." Joshua noted from behind his copy of The Pearl, scribbling answers from Fiore's paper. "Ants are a symbol of the peoples...hey Fi, what's-"

"It symbolizes how the people are trapped."

"Got it. Anyway," Joshua put down the book. "Rosette, worrying not going to get you anywhere."

"S'not going ot make the teacher correct the tests any faster." Rosette threw a history book at Claire, narrowly missing the window.

"I can't help it! You're not the one's who have to worry about leaving! Geez!"

"Maybe you should've studied more." Az cowered from Rosette's glare.

"She does have a point."

"Definite possibility."

"Maybe."

"I could help you study." Rosette stiffened as arms circled her from behind.

WHAP!

"Brad, you ass! You get worse marks then me." Brad pouted and dropped into a chair at the table, shooting the glowering librarian a sweet smile as he rubbed the growing swelling.

"Ug. I'm glad I left you to Chrono. The guy's gotta have a rough of it."

"He does." Satella smirked. "You should've seen how hard Rosette hit him when they woke up in the same bed."

"Satella!"

"NO way!" Brad grinned. "So what's the guy like? Was it fun?" Rosette looked blankly at him as she dropped Satella's blue faced body to the floor.

"Was what...NO! We didn't even DO anything."

"You sound disappointed." Roy grinned, dodging a book.

"Hey!" Satella turned bright pink as Viede scowled, the book in hand, but she quickly regained her composer.

"Well look who it is." she said haughtily, but Viede just strode past, returning the book to the shelf and leaving Satella to grind her teeth in frustration.

"My. You two seem to be having fun." Rosette grinned, dodging as Satella swiped half heartedly at her.

"_Miss Rosette Christov to the office please. Rosette Christov to the office."_ The tables occupants all turned to her with wide eyes.

"The office?" Azmaria gulped. Being such a sweet student, the small girl had likely never been there.

"Ooooooh!" The boys chorused, receiving a flurry of books from the blonde as she backed from the room.

"Oh shut it up!" she snapped before heading for the office, her stomach suddenly twisting. It was lucky, she decided, that she'd forgotten her lunch.

Rosette braced her shoulders, flicking her hair over her shoulder and trying to smooth it a little before opening the large wooden door.

"Hello!" she winced as her voice squeaked everyone crammed into the tiny waiting room glared at her, from a gum snapping seventh grader to a lanky seventeen year old with about fifteen earrings and bad acne.

"Mz Rosette?" Roseland, the secretary waved her towards the even larger wooden door in the back. "G'wan 'n, b'y." She drawled, not raising her eyes from the computer screen, which, when Rosette walked by, was covered in pictures of Aion Castov.Yuck. So busy was she being grossed out by the sheer number of pictures, Rosette strode into the office without a word or a glance at who else was there.

"Rosette." Mr. Remington smiled, but his face was strained, as was Ms. Valentine's, but neither of them looked as nervous as Chrono, who'd been jammed into a seat next to Mr. Christov. Mr. Maloney on the other hand was positively glowing. Rosette gulped, ducking her eyes from her father's cold stare.

"Hello, father."

"Rosette." he nodded stiffly in greeting.

"Have a seat, Rosette." Mr. Maloney pointed her to a chair that (thankfully) next to Chrono.

"Because of necessity of knowing what your mark would be, your test was corrected first, Ms. Rosette." Mr. Saunders, the history teacher, barked, wildly brandishing a rolled up sheet of paper. "Here you are." he slapped a her test onto the desk. "A 53. You actually passed, Miss Christov." Rosette choked, her eyes prickling.

A fifty-three. Everything around her seemed to turn grey.

She was going to have to leave! Ice slid down her spine. If she left, she'd never see Chrono or the others again! Well, she could do without the others, but she'd never see- a warm hand caught hers, drawing her back from the world of freezing mist. Surprised, she raised her head and Chrono smiled, squeezing her fingers, his free hand rubbing her back.

_Don't worry. Let's concentrate on getting you out of this mess._ With the comfort he tried to give her, she felt the blackening fear running up and down his back, and it was worse than hers.

_Alright, but you remember, I'm right here, got that?_ She tried to think back and he smiled, his cheeks pinking.

"Rosette!" Chrono squeezed her hand again as they jumped and turned back to Mr. Maloney and the other teachers.

"A fifty-three." Rosette shivered as her father spoke, his voice low, pulsing. "Is that in your normal range now, Rosette?"

"Actually, sir, that's quite low for her." Remington interjected.

"Indeed." Ms. Valentine pulled out a file. "Her marks are generally in the eighties or nineties." Thanks to Chrono, Rosette thought with a faint smile. "Her over all average is an 82."

"I believe, also, that Ms. Christov ran into some difficulties in the past few days and was unable to study." Mr. Saunders added. Rosette sat, her mouth agape.

They were sticking up for her. Surprised, she glanced at Chrono who grinned at her. There was a bang as Mr. Christov slapped the arm of his chair. Beside her, Chrono flinched, and Rosette wondered how often that 'bang' had been on his flesh. "An 82 average." the older man ground out. "Back in Mikolin it was much higher. Come along, Rosette." Straitening his suit, he strode to the door. Before Rosette could move, Chrono stood up, blocking her.

"Wait." Rosette and the other adults gasped, for the teen's tone was icy, commanding. Vincent Christov turned slowly, his steel blue eyes seething as they met Chrono's fire coloured ones. Chrono licked his lips, his breath catching a bit.

"I don't think you've given her a fair appraisal, sir. First term of grade ten is one of the hardest there are, because the work load if so much higher. To get an eighty-plus average is very difficult, and considering the fact the Rosette was unable to study for the test, I think it's unfair-"

"Silence, 23-24-5." The teachers looked confused, but Chrono's face remained impassive.

"You may call me what you like, Dr. Christov, but you haven't given your daughter a fair chance. People use the first report to figure out where they need to work-"

"Rosette, we're leaving." Vincent shoved past Chrono and grabbed her arm. "I said come on!"

"But I don't-"

"I'm afraid that's quite impossible, Mr. Christov." Mr. Maloney waved a hand towards the door, and Aion calmly moved into the doorway, cutting off the exit.

"What is this!" Mr. Christov bellowed. "She's my daughter-"

"And our student, sir." Ms. Valentine said coldly. "Your Rosette is a very bright girl in a new school, with new courses, in a new home. Learning the balance is very difficult."

"The balance!" Mr. Christov spat, his face turning red. "Who gives a damn for the balance! What matters is, I told her to get a certain mark and she didn't get it! That shows laziness and incompetence!" She gulped, her mouth suddenly feeling frozen.

"Rosette is far from lazy and incompetent, sir." Chrono ducked around them, moving as an added block to the door.

"And, sir," Aion purred, causing all the room's occupants to stare. "Mr. Christov, your daughter is completely invaluable to the play. She is, after all, playing the main role as will be seen on national TV. Come now sir! The performance is in January, right after Christmas holidays! If you were to take her away, we'd never get anyone to fill her place in time. Surely you can hold off for awhile on this? Like my little brother said, your daughter is far from incompetent. As for my brother, his working the poor girl to the bone proves she's not lazy, isn't that right, my dear?" Rosette's face turned a brilliant red.

"Chrono doesn't work me to the bone Ai- Mr. Castov! He's the one who's working his butt off!"

"But he's not now, is he?" The pale haired man's smirk made her stomach boil and it was only the fact her father was still here that kept her from flying over and smacking the tanned man upside the head.

"Ahm." Rosette peered up at her father. "It would seem, Aion, that you require my daughter's presence in your play."

"She is a fine singer, Vincent."

"Well then." Vincent Christov stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Perhaps we can work out a few little...agreements." he crooked an eyebrow at the younger man. "You have several...assets, that might help you along with your bargaining, isn't that right, _Chrono." _ Rosette blanched, her eyes shooting to said teen, but he didn't seem to have noticed anything. "Rosette," her father gave her a pat on the head as he followed Aion from the room. "As it stands here now, you can remain in school until the play, and then return to school in Mikolin afterward. I will send you your tickets."

"Yes father!" Rosette tried hard not to let her excitement seep into her voice.

"And Rosette!" she froze, half afraid he would tell her to follow.

"You're to come home for Christmas holidays so we can make arrangements about your schooling."

"Ah- Yes sir!" Somewhere in the hallway, they heard the reception room's door shut.

"Yes!" Rosette jumped up with a cheer. "Yes yes yesyesyes!" The teacher watched bemusedly as she pranced around the room, leaping over desks and chairs. "I don't have to go home yet! I don't have to go home yet! Take that old man- oo-aug!" Her dance of jubilation was cut short as her foot hooked in the rug and she fell into Chrono. Seeing as she was already there, she hugged him.

"Congratulations, Ms. Rosette." Mr. Saunders barked. "Now, just make sure you do well on the make up!" his hands behind his back, he marched from the room, his boots clacking on the well worn once polished floor.

"Well Rosette, it looks like you'll be sleeping through classes here for awhile longer yet." Mr. Remington patted her head. "Good work."

"Indeed." Ms. Valentine sailed past. "However," she turned by the door. "If you so much as day dream in my class, I'll give you detention for the rest of your life by calling your next school. And your university. And your boss." Shrugging, Remington followed Ms. Valentine, leaving them with Principal Maloney.

"Good luck on the play." he added, then returned to his paper work. Laughing, the two teens bolted from the room, hand in hand.

"Ha-ha! I've never been so happy to be in school!" Rosette laughed, dancing about in the hall. Ah! Paste green walls! (was it mould?) Vomit coloured floor (No one knew if it was the tiles or not)! Dim lights! None of it mattered, she could stay! "Man! What were you doing there anyway? And Aion! I can't believe he saved me! Go figure!" Chrono laughed, but it sounded somewhat strained.

"I was there 'cause I'm your landlord. If you were to leave, I'd need to know."

"You mean you weren't there for moral support?"

"It took a lot of convincing to get in, 'Sette." Rosette finally noticed that half the school's student body was watching her prance about like a gazelle, so she settled for falling into step with Chrono, linking hands with him again.

"I still can't believe Aion -Aion- helped us!"

"Well, it didn't take much convincing."

"Convincing?"

"Why do you think he was over this morning? He knew the consequences of the test as well as I did. After all, you're his star actor."

"Ug! You mean you asked him for a favour!? Chrono you dumbass! Do you realize what he could ask in return!" She hit him over the head, but was too busy picturing all the horrible things Aion would make Chrono do in return for the favour. (Take on more kids, go to jail, become his servant, etc, etc.)

"Actually..." Chrono blushed. "He was looking for a bargaining chip."

"A bargaining chip?" Rosette looked at him, but he didn't answer and suddenly, her feeling of victory dissipated as they walked towards the library in silence, passing the other students, unnoticed. "Chrono?"

"Yes."

"What sort of bargaining chip was Aion looking for?"

"Huh? Oh! Don't worry about it!" Chrono grinned, his hand on the library door. "After all, you get to stay for your play! You aught to be celebrating!" He pushed her through the door and she was swamped as Claire, Az, Roy, Brad, Satella, Fi and Joshua rushed over, clamouring away like chicks in need of food.

"Rosette! Rosette!"

"Hey Blondie, you stay'n'?"

"C'n I have your part if you go?"

"Are you going? I hope not!"

"Wh-what?" Rosette backed up to the wall, glaring at them as they followed. "Wha- WILL YOU ALL SHUT UP!" She screeched, sending them running for cover as hurricane Rosette flew into a rampage.

"Have fun!" Chrono waved from the door. "I'll see you guys later, my ride's waiting!"

Yeah, some things never changed. Chrono raised his eyes, looking around the tattered corridor. Same green paint, same strange floor, gritty in some places- he slipped and laughed. -and slippery in others. And tomorrow he'd come back to walk from class to class here in this corridor of bustling students.

It was an oddly exhilarating thought, plus, Rosette and he would still be in the same class, at least until she left...and he didn't want to think about that. It was best to concentrate on the victory on hand, and not what was to come, at least not yet. He didn't want to think about-

"Chrono! Chrono D'Crusa!" A large hand slapped his back, narrowly missing the amplifier. "Hey man!" Surprised, Chrono looked over his shoulder to find Brad standing behind him, tapping guitar chords out on his arm.

"Hello...Brad." the other teen flinched, picking at the bandage on his hand. "Where'd you get that?"

"Cat bite." he winced. "Without the meow." The two teens strode outside, leaning on the yellow brick of the school. "Cig?"

"N'thanks." Chrono shook his head. "Bad for the throat. And your health in general." Brad laughed.

"True. Very true." he perched on the concrete rail, puffing away. After a moment, he tapped off the ashes. "So Rosette's staying."

"Yes. Aion managed to convince her father."

"He's a swell guy."

"He's an idiot. And a lying, cheating-"

"You sound well acquainted."

"We're related."

"Ah." Brad tapped off another bit of ash. "Well, he got Rosette to stay. I hear you two are pretty close." Chrono blushed at the other's raised eyebrows.

"Not that way close, but-"

"But you wouldn't mind." Brad tossed his cigarette in the snow, waiting as it sizzled out. "Admit it D'Crusa. You've got it bad for Rosette. Why else would you practically dive into a burning building to save her."

"It was my fault she was there in the first place. I owed it to her to-"

"Owe nothing. You're all she talks about, and I'd be willing to place a bet she'd close to all you think about. Besides those brats of yours, that is. See? You're blushing, ya daisy."

"Lay off." They swatted at each other for a few minutes before dropping back onto the rail. "You realize you're acting weird, right?" Chrono pointed out. Brad sighed.

"The old man's against you coming back."

"Are you?"

"No." Brad kicked snow off his sneakers. "Rosette likes you, and for what it's worth, I think you're an ok guy. I mean, come on, you stole every ladies heart there by going in to save Rosette." Brad grinned and elbowed him. "You gotta teach me some of your style, alright? Minus the fire thing, that's too painful." Chrono laughed.

"Ah, but being willing to face pain is what it takes." he waved a hand at Brad, taking on a false accent. "Da ladies looovvve eeeet. Anyway," Chrono frowned and fixed his glasses. "I better go. I have a lot to get done before tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Later Brad." Waving, Chrono darted across the scudsy parking lot and clambered over the plough-hills, shaking his head as he tried to figure out what had just happened. "Let's see..." He'd allowed Aion to use him as a bargaining chip, Rosette wouldn't be leaving, he would be returning to school the next day and he'd had an ordinary conversation with a guy he thought hated him. Not bad from a pre-first day back. Now all that was left was letting the others know he'd be coming. That probably wouldn't surprise any of them. Without a full time job, he had the time. He still had to find a way to earn a living but hey. Humming, he unlocked the door and kicked off his shoes as he headed for the basement. You could solve anything with a bit of ingenuity, right?

"You sound happy. Then again, I never knew a guy who liked school as much as you." he jumped, peering into the downstairs living room and sighting Heather, perched on the piano stool.

"Me? 'Course I am. Rosette gets to stay for a bit longer, and I'm going back to school tomorrow." Heather rolled her eyes.

"Like I said, you're the only guy I know who'd be happy about that." Chrono laughed, but the sound froze in his throat as his sister's hand dropped to the piano keys.

"Don-" before he could get the words out, Heather's finger dropped, the resulting not echoing about the house, a tolling bell as the black rose in a wave, washing over him.

_Well do it together, right?_ Chrono stumbled back, his legs giving out.

_You and I. _Somehow, he managed to land on the couch, fire building behind his eyes, his ears filling in. Somewhere, he tought he heard someone-Heather?- call for him, but he was too far away.

The darkness crept closer, a panting beast. No! He had to run! He ran through a door, but it was still there.

_Ha-ha! You're something else Chrono. _Closer, he backed up, but he seemed to have fallen into a lake, everything was so heavy, he was sinking.

_Stellar! You and me, side by side._ He'd said yes- to what? The water closed over his head, icy, burning.

He couldn't breath! Choking -he had to be dreaming- he shut his eyes and opened them again.

_Chrono!_ When he did, the black, a sweeping serpent coiled in the waves, shot through the water, parting from it's bow.

_Why Chrono? Why must it be like this?_ The serpent hit it's mark, it's bite soft and deadly in the fading light of his heart.

_Chrono, I can't take what is to come. You fool! Why did you believe that?!_ The black serpent, shimmering in the moon's light, coiled around him, loving him in scalding embrace, burning him from the inside out as the fire had been unable to do.

_Chrono._ The voice pounded through him, each word a stake, pining him to the cross as he drifted in the murky blue.

_Why did you betray me?_ Betray...who? He hadn't! It hadn't been his fault...had it? The young woman's voice screeched in rising pain and he twisted, gasping for breath that refused to come. _Betrayer! Betrayer!_ A deeper voice took up the chant, a laughing cackle that was so familiar...where? Beyond the chant, the woman's screams could be heard, branding the blood in his veins. _You see, lost angel? This is what happens! This is the fate of those who hold hands with time. How many will it take to satisfy your taste for blood?_ What? No! He didn't want anyone to get- the serpent wrenched it's coils tighter and he screamed, the agony in his howls, the cracking of his shattering bones lost among the waters, waters turning red with blood, blue with tears, his hair, long again, dyed with the colour, branding him again. _Betrayer! Betrayer!_ It hurt! Oh God, it hurt! _God doesn't hear the pleas of betrayers, fool! You turned from him when you turned from me!_ A second door opened and water swept through there, dredging out a whirlpool of tables, sparking cables and blinking monitors. _Betrayer! this is your hell! This is where you belong, you who hide amongst mortals!_

Somewhere above the frothing turmoil, the sun rose and set, the birds hummed and sang, flitting over deceivingly peaceful water, unaware of the darkness below, even the loon who dove beneath the waves was unable to push it's black feathered self deep enough to see, although she tried, curious as to the source of the song that rose, inaudible to her ears. Above that again, in a distant room, a piano still called a warning note, a rune, softly glowing on it's strings.

End chapter 50.

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	51. Angels

A/N: This will be posted when I get a chance between tests, studying, more tests, assignments and work, so I apologise again for the time between chapters- it's the curse of being a diligent student. Good marks or bust and all that, but I can't let this drop. I WON'T! Raaar! My story! Mine mine mine! (Sneko crashes into a sail, pretend beak still going 'mine, mine' Ha-ha. I AM nuts!)

Chapter 51.

_"Did you succeed?" Superior asked, turning his face away from the demon's slobbering._

_"I did, but that fcking btch of a sister of his nearly got in the way." The white haired 'man' grumbled. "I can't believe that woman!" Genai banged his beer onto the table with a growl. "All blonde and fcking stubborn- and what's with dark haired woman trying to be blonde? Don't they know that black or dark brown is much more alluring?"_

_"So if Heather was there, how did you get into the house to paint the runes?"_

_"Same friggen' way's b'fore. Viede let me'n." he took a swig of beer. "Yes, now there's a good guy. He knows his stuff." Superior wiped a speck or meat from his pristine white coat. _

_"I see. Do you think he can be trusted to keep the plan a secret?"_

_"He don' know. "Sides, it's always good to have an inside agent boss." Superior's eye twitched._

_"You wouldn't be telling me how to run this, would you?" the angel stood, his wings flexing, sending feathers scattering to the floor. Genai shrugged._

_"I'm just sayin'. Ya don't have to listen to me, but the inside agen-" The demon fell back as Superior's dagger touched his throat, drawing a thin trickle of blood._

_"You were saying?" he hissed, his tongue darting out like a snake's to lick the thin droplets. Genai screamed, the angel's breath burning his skin._

_"I- aug! I'd do nutin' you didn't tell me to do!" the demon yowled, writhing. Superior shoved him aside, turning to the window, his hands clasped lightly behind his back as he watched cars speeding through roads, people wandering about in whatever pointless exercise they'd taken upon themselves to do. The foolish ants._

_"Genai."_

_"Yes, Holy...One?" the demon croaked, his clawed hand rising to his wound as he sat up on the wooden floor._

_"Viede may be useful. What is he?"_

_"A human, sir."_

_"He may prove useful. But Genai?" The other man froze by the door and raised his trembling eyes. Superior strode over and tipped the man's chin up. "If he betrays us, both your blood will add the red to my coat of rulers."_

_"Ye-yessir!" the demon staggered away as he was released, fleeing. _

_Superior smirked as the door shut. "Fool." Cradling a cup of red wine, the angel watched the world below swirl about it's pointless river of activity. "Ants are washed away in the rain, be them angel, human or demon. Washed away to join the rivers before returning to the ocean of fate. But, dear brother," Superior smirked, sipping his wine. "What governs what they do and how they suffer? Me you say? Oh no, not I, little brother." he settled back onto the bed, waiting. As expected, the polished wood door creaked open, the draft blowing in a flitting grey feather. "No, not I, dear brother. You, Time, control the pain of passing ages and all the death it brings."_

_"Sir?" Superior smiled at Jes' confused expression. Yes, Time controlled the pain of ages._

_"Ah Jesse. You're late." He beckoned the other angel over, little fool._

_Grey crept across the room, his large dark eyes wide, his lip captured between him teeth. That looked like a good idea. "You haven't been coming to see me, Jesse. I've told you before the rarity of your status."_

_"Ye-yes sir." Ah, that soft voice! Soft and meek and so alluring. Yes, Fate was nearly as drawing as Time's glowing eyes. "So, little one, why have you not been to visit your master?" Before him, Grey swallowed, dropping to his knees._

_"Fo-forgive me, sir- I-" He silenced the younger angel with a raised finger, enjoying how those dark eyes followed the finger as it crossed the distance between them and skimmed across his parted lips._

_"Come here." Shakily, Grey rose to his feet, slipping over to the bed. Slip. That was a good way to describe him. Superior smiled. Yes, slip. Slip of an angel, slip of pleasure, slip of the tongue. "You're hiding something, little one."_

_"N-no-oh!" He relished the angels reaction as he kissed him. That was one of Grey's appeals, he noted, moving his location. "You can tell me, Jesse." He purred, ticking the boy's jaw. "You've done nothing wrong. It was all that little Golden's doing, wasn't it?" He drew out the words, matching them to the other's hitching gasps. "You're a good boy Grey..." The angel nodded, gulping, shivering as Superior undid the top clasp on his black shirt, exposed the warming flesh to the ice in the air. "A good boy." Superior allowed his lips to trail over the angel's throat, tasting it. Ah, the taste of fear, but something was missing. His lips twisting into a sickening smile as Grey's eyes fluttered shut, the head angel raised his reddened dagger. Betrayers...why must there be so many of them?_

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"You seem happy today." Rosette grinned at Roxanne as she bounced through the door for her shift.

"Of COURSE I am!" The blonde girl trilled, dancing around to the coat closet. "I get to stay, I didn't fall asleep in class, I managed a day at school without getting detention and most importantly, I don't have to leave! I can keep living at Chrono's!" humming, she skipped over to her first table to take the orders, leaving Roxanne to shake her head and mutter 'love struck'. She was tempted to hit Roxxy for that, but she could let it slide for once. She could stay, she could stay, she could stay! The words sang through her head as she carried glasses of orange juice to the tables and carried plates back to the kitchen. For once it didn't even matter that the plates were covered in ketchup goo and mounds of uneaten hash brown mush! She was staying! Even when she was assigned to dish washing duty for scaring the customers with her energy, it didn't matter! She got to stay.

But at what price? Rosette bit her lip, sliding one of the mini skillets into the water. Chrono had gotten Aion to help tem out, but that meant that he'd asked Aion for a favour, and Aion had asked for something in return, something Chrono hadn't wanted to talk about. The fear that had slipped from him when they'd been holding hands was enough to start a niggling in the back of her head. setting a glass on the rack to dry, she handed one of the cooks their requested knife and went to stare out the window at the back alley, remembering the times Chrono had come over to talk to her.

Bargaining chip. What could- her heart chilled. Aion using Chrono as a bargaining chip with her father? A glass dropped to the floor and rolled under the prep table. The Labs!

"Chrono you idiot!" Rosette hissed, crawling under the table to retrieve the glass. "You'll be killed!" Frig, worse than that. Heart pounding, she sat up, whacking her head of the table with a resounding 'thunk!'. "Damn it!"

"Yeah well, you can clean up the water now that it's pouring over the floor." Rosette crawled out from under the table, strait into the growing puddle.

"Wha- oh Crap!" Roxanne turned off the water that was gushing into the sink and handed Rosette a mop.

"Better clean that up before Laura catches it. She's asking where the dishes are."

"I'm working on it!" she yelled after the redhead's back, throwing the glass. They'll be done when they're done, idiot!"

"I'll tell her you're almost done." Roxxy yelled back, waving. "You're lucky. She's in a good mood today, and you can blame it on smoke-inhalation from the fire. I hear someone dove in to rescue you." Roxanne smirked. "Like I said. Lucky."

"Oh hahahaha." Rosette smiled weakly as Roxxy gave her a thumbs up.

"Oh! Rosette!" She looked up from the dishes. "Don't let him get away, not that I think you have to-"

"Roxxy!"

"Coming! See you Rosette!" Laughing, Rosette turned to the puddle.

"Well. You are an annoyance, but I can't throw you." she grumbled, poking it with the mop.

_Water, deep, icy._ She yelped, jumping back. What in hell?

"Everything ok in there?" Roxanne stuck her head through the door.

"Yup! All good!" When the other girl had gone, she bent down, using a sponge to soak up the water.

Shlip. No strange visions.

Squish. Yup, it was fine. trying to force the unease prick to the back of her mind, she twisted the water from the sponges and grabbed a handful of cutlery to wash, dunking them into the sink. Instantly, fire raced behind her eyes, stealing her breath.

_Water, deep, icy, deeper still. She could hold her breath no longer, but she would. She had to reach the bottom, had to find him, she knew he was there. _

_Blood, thin tendrils faded in blue light, drifting towards her. His blood. Somewhere above, a piano tolled, a death bell in the night. No, he wasn't dead yet, she could heart the pounding of his heart, a rhythm in the turbid water that sucked her deeper yet pushed her back. Ahead, a door, slowly closing, closing...she swam to it, but it was locked. Once shed been warned not to enter through that door. Twice even. But he had fallen into hell, the hell inside. She had to get to him! _

Chrono. Rosette scrubbed furiously at the knives. Nothing was wrong. It was a dream...a scream echoed trough the back of her waking dreams, the darkness of the water clouding even the florescent lighted kitchen.

Chrono. He was so stupidly selfless, he didn't know himself.

Chrono. He was trapped, yet he had the means to break free if he only would.

Chrono. The clock above moved, circling round and round, marking the minutes, the hours.

Chrono. Nothing was wrong. Nothing was wrong. She was staying, and he had until at least February. He was fine.

Chrono...she should just call. Then she would know what she already knew, that he was perfectly fine and that he thought she was crazy for worrying. After all, he was probably out job searching, or doing homework with the kids now.

Chrono...yeah, he was fine. If he wasn't, the Marie would've called her, right? Or Heather. Or one of the others. So nothing was wrong...unless they'd all got sucked up by aliens! That was it!

"Oh no!" She could picture them now, wanting to phone her as the space ship sailed into space, them locked in the hold. Chrono would ask, and they'd laugh, zapping him with their soul removal ray and sending an alien creature to inhabit his body! Then spiky green horns would burst from his hair and he would grow slug like antennae which would spew glowing green slime over him as he morphed into-

"Hey Rosette! I'll see you later, K?" she jumped again as Roxxy came in, grabbing her coat. Roxxy frowned. "Everything ok? You look pale."

"I'm fine!" Rosette yelled, whacking the girl as she ran out into the streetlamp lit night, glancing around in hopes of spotting- No, no, no. He had a life besides baby sitting her, she reminded herself as she started up the street. He didn't walk her home every night. There were some days she barely saw him, but those where generally when she'd tripped out at him and had threatened to pound him into little bits of mush...like that couple that was kissing over by the pizza shop. How could they kiss at a time like this? OH! What if the aliens had done that! Had they turned them to mush? And she'd return to find a house full of alien goo? Without Chrono, she'd have to clean it up! Her eyes prickled. And she'd never see Chrono again! He'd be dragged away, and she'd never get to see his shaggy violet hair and bi-coloured ayes again! Or eat his cooking! Thus, with these thoughts running remarkably logically through her head, down to how she was going to defeat the aliens and turn her friends back into humans, Rosette made it home in fairly quick time, fully ready to barge through the door and save them. "I'm coming" She charged at the door, her hair streaming behind her, slipped on black ice, plunged towards the door which miraculously opened, allowing her to meet the crack in the floor board up close and personal.

"Erg! Why you-" she snarled, leaping to her feet. "You-" Nina's small arms wrapped around her knees, toppling her again. "Arg!"

"Bowled over by a small child, Aunt Rosette?" Kye asked, bending down. "Idiot."

"IDIOT! Better than brat!" Whack! The dark haired boy scowled.

"You stupid Blondie!"

"Idiot brat!"

"You already called me that!"

"Child! Cactus face!" They both paused at that one.

"Where did THAT come from?" Kye sputtered. "Purple chee-" he looked down as Nina caught his legs and pressed her red eyed face into his side.

"No fight, brother! Please!" she lifted her head and Rosette watched Kye's face soften.

"You're home, are you? I should've known by sound of arguments. You don't care who you're fighting with, do you?" Rosette glared at Heather, flinging a mitten at her.

"Shut up you hag! I don't fight with everyone!"

"Yeah, usually you're too busy hitting uncle Chrono's head." Marie threw in on her way up from the basement. "Aunt Heather's right. You do like to fight." The girl marched into the hall. "Aunt Heather, you were supposed to make her go downstairs as soon as she got home."

"Slave driver. It's not like she can do anything."

"You don't know that. Rosette," Marie picked up the mitten and put it back on the shelf. "Uncle Chrono passed out-" Heather yelped as the golden haired tornado barreled past and flew down the stairs.

"Oorg! What's WITH that girl?" She growled, flicking her hair out of her face. Nina smiled happily.

"Aunt Rosette worried 'bout Uncle Chrono." Heather snorted, standing and brushing off her jacket.

"Ug this place is a pig sty! And that girl couldn't care about anyone, even faking it. She's so obvious."

"That's because she's not faking it. She's in it wholly and fully. Hello Nina, Marie. Has Chrono woken up yet?"

"What am I? Cat shi-"

"Kye. You're tongue." Remington dropped his coat on the hook, smiling at Heather. "And before you go spreading about fakes and impostors, you should probably look closer at what lies before your face."

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Rosette froze, the stair's dieing creak sending Final Claw under the couch for shelter.

The basement lights were off except for a couple in the living room, but even those were dim, casting low, muddled shadows onto the walls like lurking ghosts. Ben looked up when she came in, hugging his book of animals to his chest.

"Can you fix Uncle Chrono, Aunt Rosette? Aunt Heather broke him when she played the piano..." Rosette glanced over at the instrument, it's teeth grinning darkly at her, a murderous angel.

"I'll try." Rosette shrugged, settling at the foot of the ratty couch. They could use some new furniture down here, it was looking pretty ragged, but then, Chrono had other things to worry about besides keeping a perfect house. Before she noticed, her hand slipped over, dropping onto his side. "Hey, idiot. You're not supposed to blank out now. Hey! Remember me? I live here, and I'm staying for awhile. Hello? Chrono?" She leaned over further, rolling him onto his back. "Chro-no!" she sang, wiping her sweating hands on her jeans. He was so pale! "Chrono, snap out of it." she shook his shoulders, making the couch bounce and squeal in protest, but he still didn't wake up. "Chrono!"

Whack! Fuming, she sat back with a humph, glowering at him, not that it had much effect. "Idiot." It was irritating how still he was lying. He looked almost dead. "Gah!" Rosette leapt up, grabbing his icy hand to feel his pulse. He hadn't died-

_Water, deep, black pulsing. A river snarling among the rocks, dragging away all in it's path. She stood alone. _

_"Chrono? You here?" her voice was lost, but it felt good to call. Shivering in the blue ice spray, she slipped and skidded down a path by the river. He was here, she knew it. Slowly she made herself walk the path, her footsteps muffled by the layer of snow as the river rushed on. She walked, sloshing her way through the mud, a brown coat that stuck and clung, unwilling to release her but not as strong as the Need. She had to find him, he was here, somewhere. _

_The river rushed on, it's water cooling the blossoming flowers around her ankles, it's frosted waters glowing blue between the fields of red and gold and violet, a constant in the swirling seasons._

_Ahead, a small house teetered on a hilltop, a ridicules cap on the flowing mane of green. She laughed and turned her feet towards it. Maybe the people there could help her. Carefully, she lifted her skirt and stepped onto the first rock in the river. It was slimy, a worms flesh under her feet, but she stepped onto the next, and the next, until she hopped from slithery rock to slithery rock, grinning like a dog with a bone. It was simple, she explained to the birds that flew over head. Perfectly, simply- the rock beneath her feet turned black, a pair of red eyes glowing upon it's surface. _

_"Aug!" She leapt back but no rock found her foot and she splashed into the river, but instead of washing her away, the river, the ever flowing constant, parted, whirling back into rainbows and darkness, washing across the fields, the mud, the snow. All was water, fickle fickle water. _

_As quickly as it had parted, the water rushed back, catching her up and dragging her under, filling her nose and mouth as it cackled, whisking it's prize deeper, deeper, smiling as her cheeks, reddened by the air, turned blue, matching its liquid flesh. "No!" She couldn't let this go on! She had to fight it! Desperately she floundered about with her arms, but it did nothing to halt her progress and she was dragged deeper still, her body screaming in the pressure. She was going to die! NO! She couldn't!_

_"No." The voice echoed through the water, rippling through from the silted bottom to the sunset kissed surface, flowing through the darkness, pushing it to the far corners. "You cannot take her." Breathing a sigh of relief, she took a step on the dry land, smiling up at the birds._

_At that moment, a clawed hand closed over her shoulder._

_-_------------------------------------------------------End chapter 51-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N A weird chapter? Very. FYI, the most important part was (mmf!) Snekochan shoves McB but can't free her mouth.

McB: Sorry, readers dear! You'll have to solve that one for yourselves! Wahahaha!


	52. Lives and Chains

A/N: Hello again, Sneko here. (Not McB, because she's a stupid, self-absorbed idiot who I'm ashamed to be sharing a body with...not really!) Aaahm...I'm having trouble with my email again and I'm not getting any reviews and/or pm(s). Sorry if that's caused confusion. I haven't gotten anything since the seventeenth, but they usually start to filter through after a few days when this happens, so don't worry. If I haven't responded, it's probably because I haven't received it, and I will when I get it, ok? (Please say it's ok, I can't exactly do anything about it either way.)

Disclaimer: If I owned Chrono Crusade, I wouldn't be writing this. Honestly. We all know it doesn't belong to any of us, and perhaps that's a good thing- otherwise, the story would've been a good bit different.

Chapter 52 (Urkles!)

Rosette stared. The fingers were long, slender, like those of a guitarist, with one main exception...

The inch long claws that casually tipped each thin finger.

"Ai!" The second she screamed however, the hand recoiled as if startled, surprising her enough to get her to turn around.  
"You!" She blinked in surprise, recognising the 'demon'.

"I told you not to come here." He growled. "And it was for your own good." He shook his head. "You're as stubborn as ever. Come on. I think my present self could use some help."

"You- what? Who are- WAIT? Erg!"

WHAP. The demon turned around, rubbing his head, his eyes narrowing. Then he smiled.

"Some things never change, do they? Well, miss Rosette Christov," the demon bowed, his bony wings spreading behind him. "I'm Chrono the Sinner."

"You- you're Chrono's self from our last life!" Chrono shook his head.

"Not the last one- there's been one since." Rosette blinked, as they continued across the field as it spread into fire capped fall.

"So...why are you here then? Why are there two of you?" Chrono held out a hand to help her over a rock wall but she swatted it away, clambering over.

"I'm the one he has the best memories of. It's confusing."

"I'd say." Rosette raised her head, looking at the sunset. It looked so peaceful; it's vivid streaks of violet and gold spreading across the dusky sky, painting the flowing hills in its colours. It was like time here was different, ever pounding on, yet frozen in place, creating a strange twisting sensation. The demon beside her chuckled.

"That's a good description of it. Time."

"You rat! You're reading my thoughts, just like Chrono does!" she snarled, hitting him again. A painful 'It's just like before' slid through her. Her eyes flew to his face, but he didn't look back, simply continuing. Frowning, she ran to catch up. "Do I have a second me in me too?"

"All of you selves are in your soul's memories, whether you remember them or not. Chrono can just remember more of me, so to him, I seem real. Technically, I'm not."

"So I'm talking to a figment of his imagination?"

"Not exactly." he raked his claws back through his hair. "I spoke to him when he was a child, because we were afraid that if someone didn't then, he would die, sealing his last chance. I didn't realize his second sense would pick up my name. That essentially created a contract or sorts."

"He picked up your name? You didn't tell him?" Why was this hill so big? Despite all the walking up hill she'd done in St. John's, this seemed so much harder!

"He didn't pick up my entire name. Only bits and pieces. He wasn't really thinking strait at the time." she stopped, panting, watching the winged back ahead of her.

"Chrono the Sinner. Cru-sinner, Crusander. I follow...I think."

"Essentially." he turned, his eyes concerned. "Something wrong?" She shook her head, putting her foot forward to take another step, but it was too hard. Something was pushing her back. Something...Chrono. Her eyes widened, her vision swirling towards blackness. Something...it hurt...her Chrono, the present one...blood water...water...damn! while she'd been talking...Dizzily she stumbled up the hill and stared at the smooth surface of the lake, her innards shivering as she saw the lake spread and spread, never ending but crossing into a strange realm where one minute you were looking at water, the next you were seeing an inside of a room- with no house. She got the feeling that if she approached the room from the side, it would vanish, like a paper cut out. Heart pounding, she turned around, and as she'd feared, the field they'd just walked over was surrounded by a narrow frame of red, and outside that was water, water as far as she could see, and she could feel it's extension to the other ends of this world.

And he was somewhere underneath it.

The ground under her feet rippled, the grass shifting colour.

Turning blue.

Turning to water. Fear flooded into her as the water rose to her ankles, its deep blue tinged with just the slightest blush of red.

"Oh God! Chrono!" He was hurt! "Damn them!" she leapt, plunging into the water, cursing as it slowed her decent towards a small light below, another of the time window like the field.

The water pulled at her, tearing at her hands, clinging to her as the light throbbed ever closer, ever out of reach. "Let me go!" she kicked hard, twisting, her hair getting in her eyes. The light...the window was so close! She could see shapes moving, just beyond the burning glow. Her lungs scrabbling for air, she reached out a hand for the warm glow, gasping as her hand slid through, vanishing. Instantly, like a piece of dust caught in a vacuum, the rest of her was dragged through as well, and she stumbled out of the water into a honking, screaming street.

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The boy lay on the cold blue of the concrete sidewalk, blood slowly dripping from a wound on his chest, staining the ground as people walked by, shadows, their faces unclear in the haze that seemed to surround him. Everything blurred, the lines sharp, electric one minute and soft, flowing, one person smearing into another like a watercolour painting the next.

From another world, he could hear screaming, a woman's howls, sobs, feel her pain...

His fault, he had done it, again, the voice in his head reminded him. How could he have let it go so far? His breath rattling away like scattered beads, Chrono turned his head to the side, the rough ground scraping across the bruise on his cheek, the dirt mixing with the tears. He'd failed to protect her. Mary. Aion, his own master, had killed her, his sword gouging through his younger servant's back to cleave the life of a woman who knew too much. Now she was gone. Coughing, he tried to lift his arm to catch the blood, as if he could stop his life flowing away by doing so, but it was no use. The ground below him burned, the sky above was set aflame by the sun, and he was burning, going back to hell where he belonged.

"Hey." he blinked, the young woman's face slipping skewed into his fading vision, her golden hair ringed with his dieing black. Her eyes...he thought they were blue, the colour vibrant, clear...he wondered what she was like...his eyes were so heavy.

"Hey, come on." her hand was patting his cheek. Silly, he thought. She was going to get dirty! She was so pure. Her thumb ran under his eyes, catching his tears. "Come on, you don't have to die here. Get up. You'll freeze." Freeze? Impossible. He was burning. The wound on his chest protested as something pressed over it, stopping the bleeding. "I'm getting help, ok? You're going to be ok."

No. He could never be ok. He'd let someone get killed. He'd failed to protect them... he tried to tell the girl this, but it wouldn't work. Helpless, he shut his eyes, waiting to fade, watching the twilight...

Rosette blinked, staring down at the pale, dieing man, barely if at all out of his teens.

What the Hell was going on? One minute she was touching that beam of light then- the man coughed, blood mixed with black splattering across the sidewalk, red tears for something that couldn't be, the stains growing as he moaned. Rosette swallowed back tears, his name dropping, trembling from her lips as her fingers skidded across his damp skin, catching in his tangled, matted hair. "Chrono." Ringing began in her ears, a tolling bell. "Chrono." She'd messed up, taken a wrong street, done something wrong, as had he. His eyes flitted open, thin slits of red glinting dully from between thick black lashes, hot and cold meeting, souls reconnecting in icy realization.

"We... missed ... our...chance...again," he croaked, shuddering. She nodded helplessly as the streams of people strode by, oblivious to the small tragedy playing out at their feet.

"I'm so-" she drew his hand into hers, her heart constricting as she felt the shattered fingers. "Aion?"

"I...turned from him..." her tears hung, shimmering in the air for a moment before joining his, making white-brown streaks on his skin. "As...usual." She smiled faintly at the mention of their other times...how many came after this?

"She...died for nothing this time." he whispered, his breathing growing thinner. "She...I couldn't...save her...I never can..."

"I can't save you either." God, how many times- she reached for him, but suddenly the ground wasn't where it should have been, it had fallen away, the water rushing through in a torrent, sweeping them both, together away, thrusting her onto a shore of darkness, struggling to cling to him. She felt his hands as they wrenched away, heard his cry of protest.

"Chrono!" she thought he called back in response, but all was drowned out by the bell, tolling, tolling, forever chasing them. In truth, it hadn't been her running from time. It was him. He was the one running, pulling her along at his side.

_See? He is a vile creature._ She flinched as the voice entered her, echoing through, vibrating like the growing gong of the bell._ See how he makes you suffer?_ Footsteps splashed through the shallow water beside her, fingers curling around her wrist. _A pretty girl like you shouldn't have to put up with this. Master Superior would treat you much better once you walk with him._ Her eyes snapped open as the arm snaked around her waist.

"Genai!" snarling, she bit the man's bony hand, drawing blood from the stinking flesh.

"Wench!" his hand bore across her cheek, knocking her back. She staggered, her back touching a large flat stone. Heart pounding, she raised her eyes to the surrounding field. "You fucking wench! What the hell does he want with you? How can that pathetic x-angel go through life after pitiful fucking life with you? Lives like that!" he stabbed a finger at the fading window of light they'd washed from, barely visible across the forest of gravestones. "I don't see why Superior needs Chrono, why he wants him back. Does it matter?"

"Oh SHUT UP!" Rosette growled, reaching instinctively for her empty belt. Damn. "Don't you insult him, you- you-"

"...'you-' what?" the man grinned, his teeth lengthen, horns growing. "Demon? Oh yes, little witch." his clammy hand latched around her neck. "That I am." he cackled, putrid breath washing her face as his lips slithered over her mouth. _ Be a good girl, brat._ _That's the way._ Rosette stumbled, her eyes watering as she struggled, the words clanging into her, gouging into her mind. No, no, no, she wasn't his! She pushed at his shoulders but it wasn't working! Again her fingers searched her belt for a gun or weapon but there was nothing- a smooth handle slipped into her groping fingers. Perfect.

"Geraug!" Genai howled as the dagger shot into his side, releasing her as he dropped to the ground, bony wings flapping for balance. She spun, her feet scrabbling against the moon frosted grass as she charged up the hill- something hooked around her ankle, jerking her to a rattling stop.

"What the hell!" She had to get out of here! She had to find Chrono! She yanked at the cuff connecting a chain to her leg. How had it gotten there? What sort of place was this? When she looked, the entrance was far across the field.

"You little fool." Genai's voice rattled out from a little ways behind her, his wings rustling in the still, smothering ice of the air.

"Take a close look. You'll not leave here." She could see his dark shadow, but he moved no closer, the chain glinting at his feet as it passed, stretching back deeper into the graveyard, running through little loops from gravestone to gravestone. Death after death, all connected. She gave the chain a yank, but it didn't move, and when she looked down, it clung to the grave she stood by before snaking, unhindered, across the rest of the field. Genai circled around so he was standing before her, gesturing at the connected grave markers.

"So tragic really. All over a puny angel. You've had to die, so many, many times." The ground by her feet sizzled. "Come with me."

"Forget it!" The sizzling grew louder, a hole growing, deeper and deeper before the last gravestone. Genai took a step closer.

"Superior can save you from that fate." he hissed as the gravestone shuddered under her fingers as a name bubbled to the surface.

"I'd rather-" the chain at her leg gave a tug, slowly pulling her towards the slobbering mouth.

"Don't bother saying 'I'd rather die', sweet heart, because that seems to be what's about to happen." Abruptly, the bell in the tower at the entrance began to ring.

"Oh lay off with the bell! Don't you guys have any imagination?"

"Would you rather bagpipes?" Clank.

"I'd rather you all shut up!" Clank.

"I can bring you with me. If I do that, Superior will help you. He has the power of the angel of Fate, after all."

"Aion's- the - angel- of- Fate?" Good grief. No wonder so many people were miserable! She yanked at the chain as her butt hit the ground, skidding across the ground. Genai laughed, his head thrown back in sick mirth.

"No. But the angel of Fate, I'm afraid...passed on, and sadly the weight of his powers slipped onto my poor master's shoulders."

"And how much aid was given by- Superior in his passing." she growled, clawing at the grass for purchase. He shrugged.

"Who cares? Now that Superior has Grey's powers, he can break those chains. Ha! He can even let me into heaven! It's a beautiful place, you know, but so bright. You see," the demon crouched down. "While hell is full of fire, it's a place of frikken shadows, flickering on the wall." he leaned closer. "They're always there, watching! Their eyes, glittering from the flames, looking down on us! Us, those cast into darkness, because God, the 'all forgiving' didn't forgive us! We, the forgotten! It's at us they stare, from up in their city of clouds, and they laugh, sending the shadows to chase us through the flames! Watching us scream in pain!" Clank. She slid a bit lower, her arms latched around the gravestone. Se didn't look down. If she did, she would see the glowing flicker of flames. God, Chrono, help! " But who deserves to go there? The murderer? The prostitute? The person who sold their soul to the devil?" Genai's eyes flashed. "God is the evil one! He is the one who chooses, but he asks not of the circumstances! The 'murderer' who killed to protect another, the prostitute who sold his body to keep his sisters safe, the soul seller who sold her life to a demon to save her brother! Where will they all go? To hell!" Clank. She scrambled, her fingers losing their grip on the stone.

"That- that's not true!"

"No, it's not," Genai agreed, sitting down and taking off his hat so his spiky blond hair stuck up even more. "No, because Superior has freed us. He can free you too, from your fate. You don't have to follow that pitiful-"

"He's not pitiful, you monster!" She swum at him, but the action cost her her grip on the gravestone. "Chrono!" Below her, the flames flickered, smiling, ready to swallow their next meal, her bindings rattling away into the grinning orange teeth as the hole above began to shrink, the moon and stars slowly disappearing, Genai's high laughter joining the bell in serenade.

Far across the graveyard, a second chain drew its struggling prey towards its den, its clanking softened by the shortness of the remaining chain.

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A/N: Yes, I know, another strange chapter. Forgive me. These dream sequences are necessary. Oh! Grey and Golden...they should be back next chapter... well, I guess Golden will be. Waah! Grey! Rosette! Is this the end of their acts?


	53. Superior Resoning

A/N: Well, at the time I'm writing this, I still haven't actually posted chapter 52! I'm having trouble with It's horrible! I'm not getting my pms, I can't get the chapters to post...well, I can't do anything about it at this point except move ahead with the next chapter so I can post them other, despite only getting 7 reviews on 51...is everyone out there as busy as me? I hardly have time anymore to write! A couple days ago, I actually did homework in my writing time- something I refuse to do! Arg, the horror! Aright then. I'm sorry if this takes me forever and a day to get up. I'm trying. Okedoke then.

I still don't own this by the way

A/n#2: Nov 27. I've been trying to post the next chapter, but it still isn't working. If this continues, I may have to do something drastic.

Chapter 53.

Chrono sat up, shaking his head to clear the shadows in his vision. It didn't work, but it had been worth a shot. Cautiously, he ran a hand over his chest, surprised that there was no blood, he was in one piece, he was fine. Just really wet. Speaking of water...he looked around, eyes following the trail of a water droplet as it dove from the ceiling to splatter on the stone floor at his feet. He shivered, for the water glittered, glowing, like there were little sparks of hell fire in them. Then again, considering the way things had been going here, there probably was. Yes, this was not quite what he'd had in mind for an evening's activity. Carefully, he drew his feet under himself, easing his weight onto them. Thankfully, they held up, and he took a step in the soft, murky world of Mary's tomb. He couldn't imagine spending 50 years here, but he had- in another life.

Another life.

Rosette.

"Sassafras!" Rosette! She was here, somewhere! His feet slipping on the wet moss on the floor, he scrambled towards the entrance of the tomb, coming out onto the moonlit ridge overlooking a huge graveyard ringed with bell towers, all tolling miserably away. Man, he really was going to detest that sound when all of this was over. He'd have to request not to have the bells rung at his funeral. Better yet, skip the funeral. Best to cremate him and be done with it. Great. He had the plans for his funeral done, he could move on with the rest of things.

Like finding Rosette. A scream rose from the graveyard below, rattling the stones of the tomb behind him. Acrid smoke wafted through the air, covering the stars, the black-grey glowing with inner, pulsing red; a hell above earth. _She was falling_. His stomach gave a wrench as his bare feet sloshed through the marshy grass. "Whose stupid idea was it to put a sassafrassing graveyard in the middle of a BOG?" Gritting his teeth as a pounding started behind his eyes, he slid a bit further down the hill, using the alders as handholds. At least they were good for something besides slowing- the screams rose in volume. "ROSETTE!" Damn it! He'd never forgive himself if she died here, in his stupid dream world! Forget carefully sneaking up! He dropped his hold on the alder and let himself tumble and skid down the muddy slope, crashing to a stop in a bramble of blackberries and wild roses, the thicket of thorns clawing, trying to hold him back.

"Chrono!"

"Let go!" He elbowed, kicked, and tore his way from the brambles, leaving more of himself behind then ahead as he stumbled towards the enormous black wrought iron gate that twisted and twined around itself in a doomed attempt to reach the heavens. Hang on Rosette, he willed, I'm trying! I'm almost there! Chrono grabbed hold of the latch on the gate, tugging at the lock which stubbornly kept its post, even as the huge bells above bellowed out their mourning sobs, opening the doors to the second world. "Rosette!" The screams kept getting louder and louder, but he couldn't get through!

"My my little brother. You seem in quite the hurry to enter the Field of Death. Don't be in such a rush, mm?" Chrono stiffened as a black aura, barely covered in 'pure' angelic white came up behind him.

"Superior." Pain seared through the amplifier as the angel sidled up to the gate, leaning beside him.

"Do you like my music? It took quite awhile to compose it. Right about now, the scream should-"

"Chrono" she was calling for him!

"Rosette!" He yelled, but his voice was lost in the clanging bells. "Rosette---" he gave the gate another wrench, feeling it shudder under his hands. "Open!" Superior raised an eyebrow.

"My Time, you have changed. Should I call you Chrono now, little demon?" Chrono stopped shaking the gate, panting, pain burning through his spine.

"You can call me whatever the hell you want." his fingers tightened around the heating metal. "But don't you _dare_ hurt Rosette." Before he thought about it, his fist struck Superior's smug face. The 'angel' took a step back, his eyes narrowing.

"You're still a fool, Time. Still dallying with your precious mortal girl. Why is she so precious to you, mm?" Superior moved, faster than he'd expected, pinning him to the towering gates, his long tanned hands, curling around the younger demon/angel's neck, the pads of his fingers probing at the amplifier, the nails driving into the swollen red skin.

"Auug!!!" White lightning rushed through him, a beam strait from the burning cloud above running through the amplifier, boiling his blood, devouring his bones, through his chest, his arms, his legs, up through his skull...it ran beyond the usual veins it followed and spread like a mud slide over his skin, his soul, his being, smothering...Superior released the amplifier and Chrono dropped to his knees, his bones feeling melted, non-existent. The gonging bells thrashed at his ears, his stomach churning like the clouds above as his tried to raise his head. He. Had. To. Get. To. Rosette.

"Leave her." Superior whispered, bending close. "She's just a mortal girl. You...I can free you, Chrono. I can return you to who you were." Somewhere, he registered Superior's icy hands sliding down his neck...around his shoulder...over his side... "Let me help you, little brother. Return to my side." Even the sizzle of the amplifier seemed to have quelled under the high angel touch...maybe...maybe it wasn't so...bad...

Rosette.

"N-no." Superior arched an eyebrow, a strand of silver hair bouncing lightly across his tanned face.

"N-no? Can't I persuade you, little lost angel?" Chrono shuddered in the other's embrace. How could he have lived like this?

"No!" He snarled, pushing the other away. "I won't go back with you, ever, Superior. I don't care if I'll disappear tomorrow, I will NEVER return to you!" pressure was building up in his head again, but he ignored it, feeling like his heart was beating its way out of his chest. Rosette...Rosette...he had to get to her!!! Superior stood, towering above him, his face shadowed.

"Is that your answer then, little fool?" Chrono swallowed, but stood, his eyes flashing.

"Yes." He growled, glaring at his 'master'. The angel nodded, raising a hand.

"Very well, Time." he smiled gently. "I am a merciful God." The 'angel' snapped his long fingers, the sound diving through the air to his ears, humming.

Czzzank!

"Aaaug!" Chrono clamped his hands over the amplifier, but he couldn't, for a chain had connected itself to it, through the two holes Superior had placed there earlier. He hit the ground hard, writhing, retching, black curtaining his vision as the gate behind him burst open in a river of icy, stale air, like he was entering an ancient tomb.

"Fear not, Time. You're entering now, see? You're beloved human won't have to wait now.' Oh dear," Chrono gagged as the angel's foot ground down on his stomach. "You can't get to her now can you? But it doesn't matter, Chrono, because listen? Her screams have stopped. Ah, the blessed sound of bells." Chrono turned his head, trying to keep his eye open, cold countering the fire from the amplifier as he realized that Superior was right.

Rosette had stopped screaming.

"Bastard! What did you do to her!" Chrono rolled over, taking Superior with him. "Where is she! Where is Rosette!" The chain pulled up short, choking him like a dog, but he didn't care. "Where is she!" Superior shrugged.

"Dead now, I suppose."

"No." Forget Superior. Chrono leapt to his feet, loping across the graveyard, between stones connected by chains. He didn't have to look at each stone to know it bore his name. "Rosette!" Behind him, he could hear Superior laughing as the gates shut, trapping him there, but he didn't care. "Rosette!" She was further on, over the next hill, he could feel it. "Rosette!"

"You won't be able to save her Chrono! You never can!"

"Shut up!" he pushed further, hauling at the chain. He couldn't breathe, but breathing could wait. "I don't care about other lives. I care about NOW." As if hearing his voice, the faint flicker of Rosette's aura picked up, strengthening a little. The next hill fell behind him and he saw her, falling. "Rosette!" She didn't hear him, yelling something he couldn't understand to someone he couldn't see, but she was falling.

"Rosette!" he darted forward, only to have the chain draw him up short, a hair's breathe away. "Rosette! My hand! Hurry!"

She couldn't hear him! "No!" he screamed as she lost her grip, tumbling down into the glowing red pool below. "Rosette!" He jumped, grabbing for her hand as blackness swooped around him, engulfed him, the scene around shattering into dust as something snapped and he was falling...falling...it was so dark...where'd the red gone? All he could hear was the steady drip...drip...drip...

Bonk!

"Chrono you rat! What took you?" Rosette scowled, mud covering her face and hands, her hair, her clothes tattered.

"You-"

"Anyway, are you really Chrono? I don't trust anything I see here in this dream place. And you know? You have a really sick imagination to come up with this in your dream world."

"I didn't come up with it you- you-" she was alive. Her aura felt just like it always did...and so did her fist. "Thank God!"

"What? And why didn't you help me when I was falling mmm? And this chain." she held up the chain. "What's up with- oh!" Rosette frowned, her large eyes widening. "Chrono, you're bleeding!"  
"It's fine." the amplifier was burning, but it wasn't too bad, as far as what if had been went. "I'm fine."

Whack.

"Don't fake it." the blonde growled, holding her hand threateningly close. "I can tell Mister, it's in your aura."

"But I'm not faking it." the chain clanked warningly at his neck, tugging at the amplifier. "Ow!" He grabbed hold of the cold metal links, surprised to see it ended only a few links after the amplifier.

"Your chain broke too? Doesn't the breaking of the chain mean we're dieing?" Rosette gasped.

Whack!

"Ow! What the-" Rosette's fingers curled around his arm, her eyes stabbing at his.

"You haven't disappeared yet, and I'm not about to let you, Mister demon ex-ange-

Thump!

Abruptly, they stopped falling, the black abysses suddenly turning into black ground, which slowly ebbed and shifted, the black melting away into faded blue linoleum and an abandoned blanket.

In the city of heaven, a demon swore, an angel took (large) swig of wine, twirling his glass, and a golden winged angel smiled weakly, retying the bandages on her partner's chest.

End chapter 53

Yes, I know it's short. I wrote this while chapter 52 wouldn't update, so I might get this up in the same day, something I hate doing, because then people don't review them both. However, I don't like having a second chapter left unposted for fear that I might forget. So I'll deal with fewer reviews and post anyway. Consider it a special treat for having to wait so long. -


	54. Good Morning!

A/N: Woo! I'm starting this after posting two chapters in the same day. Why? Because I still have fifteen minutes -ok, ten- in which I can write! - So I will. is working again, my story's updated, I survived my chemistry test...life's good! Plus- oops! Can't tell you that so read on!

Disclaimer: I don't own it!

Chapter 54

_Grey moaned, opening his eyes. _

_What in heaven's name had just happened?_

_Superior had stabbed him._

_"Damn him!" the grey winged angel lurched upright only for the soft velvet curtains and the dark wood bed canopy to swirl around in a dizzying tornado...never mind that! If Superior had attached him-_

_he might go for Golden next. He had to warn her! Gripping the bed post- which was still spinning around, the stupid thing- he tried to get his feet to the floor, but they wouldn't reach. Well, he'd have to jump. He would get to Golden before Superior and-_

_Thwap. His knees struck the flagstone floor, sending jolting sparks up through him, igniting the black spots in his vision, turning them red, dripping...funny how they spread from his vision onto the floor...oh. Maybe it wasn't the black spots that had turned red, because they'd returned...aw man! Now the floor was spinning. It made it really hard to stand. A spinning rug caught his eye. Funny. That was the same as the one in Golden's room... _

_"Grey! What are you doing!" A pair of bare feet stomped into his vision, their toes curls on the cold, spinning floor. How could they just march across it like that? Without falling? "Come on, up we go." A shoulder wedged itself firmly under his arm and the floor dropped away...it was so far...a pair of delicate hands shoved him back onto the bed._

_"Ug! What is with you men?" The hand flicked long golden hair over its corresponding shoulder. "For the last time Grey, you're hurt- and sick- so will you do me a favour and STAY IN THE BED!" The voice continued ranting, the soft harsh tones drawing the soft blue darkness over him, blocking out whatever it was he'd been worried about..._

_Golden sighed as Grey relaxed, his breathing slowing. Good grief! Men! Were they all like this? It really was irritating. _

_At least he was safe. She didn't remember much now, just walking in on him bleeding, thinking he was dead..._

_And that Superior was going to pay. Originally, she had been planning to get her revenge herself...but then she looked and saw the disgusting monster attaching Chrono and Rosette, trying to get Chrono to return to him. Golden smiled, stretching out beside Grey. Superior had lost him, fully. Grey had left his side, and Chrono... Chrono had snapped the chain._

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"Ooooooh" Rosette sat up, rubbing her head from where it had cracked off Chrono's jaw. "Ow." Brushing her bangs out of her eyes, she glanced up, meeting the shocked expressions of the kids who were peeking through the door.

"Wh-what are you doing to uncle Chrono?" Nina asked, looking curious.

"You mean what's going on!" Tawny gasped, her eyes huge. "Woooow!"

"Why's she sitting on top of him?" Ben asked, flipping though his latest book.

"'Cause they're having sex!" Kye grinned, frowning at Kino, Nina's and Ben's blank looks.

"No they're not!" Marie snapped, "They still have their clothes on!"

"What's sex?"

"Its how people make babies!" Kye said matter-of-factly. "And Marie, you're wrong. You don't have to take off-"

"Why does Uncle Chrono want more kids? Aren't we good enough?" Kino looked puzzled.

"Yeah, but we aren't his."

"Yes we are! He said so!"

"We'll, he'll have his own now."

"Do we have to leave? Uncle Chrono, will we have to leave? Uncle Chrono?"

"It's not what you-"

"Shut up guys! We should leave them alone, you aren't supposed to watch. It's private, remember? That's what Miss said in class." Marie growled.

"Ooooooh." The others nodded, except for Kye.

"So? This isn't school. I wanna watch."

"Kye, you pervert!" Tawny gasped. "Me too!"

"Ok, that's enough. Kye, Marie, Kino, Tawny, Ben, Nina OUT! I'll talk to you in a minute!" The kids yelped, running from the room and upstairs and shutting the door to the basement...but not before Rosette could hear Kino announcing to Satella and Azmaria that she and Chrono were...

"I'm going to murder whoever invented the idea of Sex-ed for kids." she growled. "And you! How can you let then get away with talking like that!" Chrono glanced pleadingly up at her from the floor, his face slowly turning blue from where she had her knees on his throat. "Gah!" she jumped back and he rolled aside, wheezing.

"_Thank you_." he choked, before smiling faintly, helping her up. "Good morning." he gave her a shy kiss on the cheek before scooting across the room, his eyes wary.

"CHRONO! YOU PERVERT!"

And so, another morning began to the music of thrown books.

Rosette waited until Chrono had escaped up the stairs to pick up the blanket and put it back on the couch, her face still pink. Sometimes mornings could be very strange. In a good way. Smiling, she bounded up the stairs, the sounds of sizzling bacon, clacking utensils, a stern male voice all sounding deliciously homey as she peeked out the door, chuckling at the abashed kids as Chrono gave them a lecture about finding out what was really going on first.

"So you weren't having sex with Rosette?" Kye looked disappointed. "I thought that's what we guys were supposed to do with girls."

"Ew!" Tawny stepped away from him, as did Marie. "Kye!" Chrono groaned, turning the bacon.

"There's more to..." he shook his head and Rosette grinned into her fist as he shovelled bacon onto a bowl and started up the eggs. "Rosette, if you find it so funny, you explain it to him!"

"How'd you! You rat! Do have eyes in the back of your head?" She stomped through the kitchen and hit him. "You see girls," she smiled at his nieces. "This is how you handle an obnoxious male." Before he could get away, she grabbed Chrono's short braid and hit over the head.

"Ow! Rosette!"

"And that," she said triumphantly, "is what you do."

"Thanks a billion, Rosette. You get dishes duty after supper tonight."

"Ah huh." Still smirking, the blond sauntered over to the table and sat down to eat.

"Hey Rosette." Kye sidled up to her. "Is it true that you and Uncle Chrono didn't have sex?"

"Kye, lay off!" Rosette fluttered her eyes at the pink faced teen.

"Aw! Give him a chance Chrono! Anyway, no we didn't." Again, Kye looked disappointed.

"Are you sure?"

"Very."

"Would you like to?"

"Like to what?" Rosette groaned inwardly. If she was right, the next question would be...

"Have sex with Uncle Chrono, duh! I bet-"

"Kye, I think it would be best to keep out of other people's business."

"Yeah, I will if she answers it!" Kye glared at Rosette. "I gotta know! I mean, don't you wanna know how she feels about you?" Rosette let her eyes slide to Chrono, who kept his back to them. No, she could feel. He didn't want to know how she felt about him, except he did want to know, but he didn't want to, not here and...

"I..." her eyes remained on Chrono as he strode the fridge, riffling through, even though he wasn't looking for anything. "I don't know." she stammered. It was true, she didn't. "You see, Kye, I think there's a lot that has to come before...um sex. I think...I think it should only happen between two people who t-truly love each other. I guess. I don't know."

"So, you think two people have to love each other?"

"Yes." Well, that was the best non-answer she could come up with. Did they have to love each other? She really didn't want to be thinking about this. Neither did Chrono, although he'd actually made it to the table to eat.

His face, she noted, was a very, very bright shade of pink.

"Hey Uncle Chrono."

"..."

"Do you love Rosette?" Chrono choked and Rosette spat out her bacon, gasping.

"Are you alright?" he jumped up, handing her a glass of water as she nodded, trying to catch her breathe. Oh, she didn't want to hear this! She didn't want to hear the answer to this!

"I had to put up with yours." he hissed, smirking evilly. "However." He turned to Kye, his hands on his hips. "I don't think I need to tell you how I feel, Kye. Now. Will. You. Please. Lay. Off. With. The. Questions. We're all going to be late for school!"

"Awww."

"Uncle Chrono!"

"We're?" Rosette raised an eyebrow. "Was that a slip of the tongue I heard?"

"No."

Whack.

"You mean to tell me you didn't tell me you were going to go back to school! What were you planning on doing? Walking in and telling me 'oh, I forgot to tell you'? You rat!"

"So what do you think, Aunt Heather?" Kino asked from where they were clustered in the front hall, listening to the scrambling and yelling of the pair in the kitchen.

"Ow! Yes, I wanted to surprise you! Ow! Hey! I don't have to tell you everything you know!"

"Yah! Well you should've! I would've gotten you to do my homework!"

"Hey! Ow! No fair! I'm not your permanent slave you meany!"

"Yes you are! Isn't that what landlord's supposed to be?"

"No! Ow!"

Smiling, Heather shut the door. "Definitely love. On both sides."

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A/N: Sorry. It's pretty obvious I like morning scenes, mainly because I like the mornings! I'm writing this after a fell and took a small chunk of flesh out of my elbow the day before an award ceremony and two tests...sigh. I'm such a klutz. (I was winning the race 'til I fell though!)


	55. Snowballs and School

A/N: I know. The last chapter was short, and for that, I'm sorry. It was a case of not being sure how long the next part of the chapter would be. If it was too long...well, it just would've been harder to write, and besides, it was designed as more of a cutesy chapter than anything, after the crazy ones from before. I hope that worked. Plus, I wanted to write about the kids. Love those little geese. Anyway. IT SNOWED HERE! Yaaay! Not much, but it was a little flurry in the night leaving a little white coat on the ground! Hurrah! Sneko does a dance Happy happy happy! Wow! I haven't been this happy to see snow since I was... a good bit younger. I don't know why, but these little things are making my happier this year, and I think that's good. I hope both the feeling and the snow stick around!!

Next day: Nooooo! The snow melted! I didn't even get to play in it...ah well. The nice thing about snow and Newfoundland is that just like fog, school and the guy you don't like, it always comes back.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade. Don't want to, 'cause then I couldn't write this fic without going to my publisher and getting it edited to pieces and ideas that I really didn't want.

Chapter 55! Yay! Happy happy kitty, despite two tests today! (Which went ok after)

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"You're such an idiot, you know that." Chrono smiled as she continued grumbling, tugging his sweater tighter against the frosted wind that seemed to poke it's way through every miniscule hole. Rosette paused mid growl and frowned, catching his wrist up and inspecting his hand.

"Your fingers are blue."

"I'm fine."

"You'd say that if you were on your deathbed, because you're a stupid stupid." They continued up the hill, dodging the muddy swipes of cars trying not to fall on the valleys and ridges of frozen road slush that clung to everything.

"I'm not stupid." Chrono blushed, feeling Rosette's eyes wavering between peeping up at him and avoiding him completely as her fingers wrapped around his chilled palm, warming it. "Just...a procrastinator." Why had he waited so long? Why was he still waiting? Did it matter? They were together now.

For a second, their eyes met.

"Oh shut up. I'm the only one allowed to insult and pick on you." Rosette tossed her head, smirking. "And right now, I've got you." she held up his captured hand, an evil leer on her face. "And that means you're mine, all mi-i-ine!" the mountains of snow lurched further away as her foot hooked on a slush ridge, sending her stumbling towards the whizzing wall of multicolour metal. "Aiee-ooff!" Chrono grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back from the road.

"Careful. It's slippery. Klutzy."

"I'm not a klutz you dumb-stupid!" Whack! The snowball hit him square in the face. (He didn't know how it was square, seeing as snowballs were round, but anyway.)

"Ow! Meany!" Whap!

"Who're you calling a meany!" Rosette snarled. She grabbed another snowball, a muscle twitching in her eye.

"You! Whoa!" The next thing she saw was Chrono's feet as he slipped (her snowball had nothing to do with it! It was innocent!) and fell against the smooth wall of ice that rose from the dry cleaner's parking lot. She waited, snowball in hand, for him to get up. Cars shot along the slippery road behind her, blaring out rhythm-less beats that seemed to match her heart rate as one minute passed...then another, and the was no sign of him coming out from behind the smaller pile that blocked her view.

"Chrono!" Dropping her snowball, she scrambled around the small mountain, each tractionless step taking forever until she made it around to the other side where Chrono lay facedown, his back to her. "Chrono!" He didn't move. "Chrono! Wake up stupid!" She'd killed him! "Chrono!" she shook his shoulders hard. "Chrono!"

"Rosette, I'm -ow- fine! Just -ow- stop shaking me!"

"You idiot jerk!" Whack! Chrono rubbed his head as they continued on their way (he'd just been winded from the fall), glowering ruefully at the fuming girl beside him.

"I didn't mean to fall." he muttered, hoping to calm her down. She walked faster, her head down. Well, he had the longer legs.

Now if they'd just stop shaking. "Rosette, come on! I fell! It could've happened to anyone!" he grabbed her hand and sucked in his breath, her aura flowing around him, far warmer than any coat.

"What-" Rosette held up his hand -which she'd succeeded in catching again- and stared, her eyes widening as the soft blue of his aura mixed with her vibrant yellow. "Chrono you rat! What did you do to me!"

"I didn't do anything!" he took a stepped back, tugging to free himself as Rosette's eyes narrowed.

"Didn't do anything? I'M GLOWING LIKE A FRIGGEN CHRISTMAS TREE!" Uh oh. Gulping, Chrono backed away as her aura turned from yellow to red on the outside, winding its way around her strait legs, stiffened back...the fists clenched rather menacingly at her sides. "Turn me back!" But he hadn't done anything! Their auras parted, the air at the fringes crackling as the tips strained to hold to the heat.

"I can't!" he snapped, shouldering his bag and glaring at her.

"You numb skull! Yes you can!" Rosette shot back, grabbing a handful of snow.

"I told you I didn't do it!"

"Oh yeah? Well mister, you're the only other person here who's lit up!"

"Maybe mine's the only one you can see!" She couldn't see the others? He glanced at the waves coming off the other commuters. Oh no, they weren't the only one's with auras...but why was it only his she could see?

"Well whose fault is that!"

"I don't know!" Whap! Her snowboulder hit him, knocking him over.

"Idiot!" she screamed, stomping past him. He scrambled to his knees behind her, scooting forward.

"Crazy!" he was an idiot!

"Pervert!" How could- her foot hit some ice glittering like a mirror in the sun. "Oof. Bony back!"

"Violent!" He scowled up at her, having moved forward enough to neatly cushion her fall.

"Jerk!" she hauled him up by the cheeks, pinching then until they were white.

"Stubborn!" he stuck out his tongue as she caught his arm, saving him from falling into traffic.

"Bull headed!" Whap! Ooh! He was going to have a headache when she was done!

"Meany purple head with a death wish!"

"Rosette!"

"Rosette? What? What do you mean? You're supposed to use an insult!" they stopped, panting and dripping water in the school foyer.

"It was an insult!"

"What the hell?" she yanked on his braid as he stuffed his sweater into the locker they shared (Chrono's old one having been re-assigned).

"It means a clumsy, mean, idiotic, impulsive, pig headed, violent, constantly hungry, bad tempered, messy, destructive, absolutely perfect girl who lives on the second floor of my house!" She froze, grade ten Canadian history textbook stopped mid launch as her eyes trained on her target. He stood, breathing hard, his hair curling at the violet ends from the moisture, eyes hidden by a crooked, dripping, fogged up pair of glasses, water seeping from his pants, which, now that she looked, were really too short, only to his ankles.

Overall, it wasn't what you'd call a handsome picture...so why was her heart dancing, singing in her ears, carolling along with her own hitching breath as she slowly lowered the book, tapping it warningly against her leg. He, in response, stepped back, hesitated, and took two steps forward, fiddling with his glasses shyly, his frost bitten cheeks slowly pinking, deeper and deeper until they were the colour of summer roses, glowing out from his bronzy skin. He hadn't meant to say it then, meant to wait but...

It had just popped out. She smiled at his thought.

"Chrono..." he looked away, the red spreading. "Ug. You look pathetic. Give me those." she growled, stuffing the history book into his hands and snatching his glasses, rubbing them on the hem of her shirt to clear the condensation. "There." to her disgust, they fogged up the second she stopped. "Darn!"

"Rosette! Calm down! They're the only pair I've got, and I can't see very well without them!"

"Chrono?" Nibbling her lip, she leaned back against the lockers, cleaning and inspecting the glasses, flicking her glance his way now and again from under her too long hair. (Which was now frizzy.)

"Yes?" He raised his head, squinting, the red and gold winding out of his aura.

"You have heard the saying 'there's no such thing as a slip of the tongue' right?" His aura...she shifted her gaze to the softly flickering colours casting glowing shadows upon the fen green lockers. Warm blue, a soft pink twisting through...a silken lilac, a darker blue -which was the colour of her eyes, he informed her mentally- green, yellow, orange, a misty grey.

"I have. I don't know if I believe it." With every colour, a different feeling came, soft and warm, looping around and combining with her aura until she couldn't tell the difference between them, all the colours nosing at her yet not one of them mixing into the brown they should've, had they been paints. "However," Chrono sighed, smiled. "I can't say it isn't true. All of it. You're clumsy, mean and all the rest...but you wouldn't be you otherwise. I probably wouldn't...I wouldn't like you half so much if you weren't...like...well, you." he seemed to have stopped breathing, and his blush seemed contagious, spreading to her face as somehow, during the softly spoken words, they'd moved, just inches apart. It...it was a short gap. His eyes...he was confused, as confused as she was, but like her, there was certainty, one that bled into his aura and thus into hers. Had there ever been a difference between those two palates of colour? Slowly, her gaze was drawn to his hand, slowly, shyly rising to her-

"Well, having fun you two?" Roy grinned, draping an arm over each of their shoulders. "You two make a cute couple. So. How long's it been official? Ah, right! Welcome back Chro! I missed your notes on the last test, but whatever."

"How long..." Rosette swatted Roy's arm away as Chrono tried to worm free.

"Chrono! So it's true! You are back!" Azmaria skipped over, beaming.

"Are you sure you two are up to this? After this morning, I mean. Mightn't you be... tired?" Satella asked, her innocent smile tweaking up smugly at the corners.

"What? Whoahoho! Chrono! You've moved up in the world then." Both Brad and Roy nudged the flustered teen.

"You better fill us in."

"Yeah. I mean dude, you won Rosette!"

"No- no it's not like that! We didn't-"

"Whaa? You got walked in on?" Roy looked shocked. Satella tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"Rosie's lucky. Another minute and whoo, it would've been real warm in there. Small room too."

"Rosie!?! And what? We weren't-"

"So. What's he like?" Claire hiss-asked, sidling up to her as she struck Satella over the head. "I may not be one for guys but I think-ooow! Rosette!" Whack!

"Yo. What's up guys?" Joshua and Fi waved, shutting the door on the snow outside.

"Chrono. Up Rosette."

"What?" Joshua slapped Chrono on the shoulder while Fi asked Rosette if it had hurt, being her first time and all- or had it been her first time?

"Will all you just shut-" Rosette's bellow and her friends headlong flight was stopped as the door to the teachers lounge opened.

"Well Chrono. I hear you had fun this morning." Aion's eyebrow quirked, his vile lips upturned at the corners. "My parents won't be happy about this. And I was so sure you'd take care of Rosette."

"He. Didn't. Touch. Me."

"Doing it one-sided? Chrono you cruel kink."

"But Chrono and Rosette didn't...didn't..." Azmaria turned hot pink as they all looked at her. "What I mean to say, is the kids, walked in on them this morning, and they were on the floor-" Joshua whistled but stopped as Rosette grabbed a handful of his hair, shoving him aside and stomping up to Aion, her eyes blazing, dragging Chrono along by the wrist.

"Before you start filling in all the blanks with your sick ideas," she growled. "Don't you think you should find out the facts before shouting out lies, Mr. Hotshot news person?"

"Truth? Don't be stupid." Aion wound a bang around his finger. "There's no such thing. What one person thinks, the other involved thinks and what the viewer thinks are all completely different things."

"There is, however, such a thing as totally twisting the truth around." Chrono ground out softly.

"And there is -what shall I call it?- the law of the jungle." Aion lent closer to his little brother. "Slightly modified. It's eat or die, little demon. And you, my brother, have never eaten."

"Shut up!" Rosette snapped. "You know nothing about him!"

"Don't I, little lamb?" Aion slid closer, and despite her best intentions, she couldn't help seeing the predator in his motions.

"Lamb! Why- you disgusting-" Rosette rammed her book bag towards his horribly, terribly, disgustingly handsome face. Damn him, damn him, damn-

"ROSETTE CHRISTOV!" Principal Maloney bellowed from the staffroom door, his boots clacking on the tile as he minced out, his eyes shooting through every shocked student's brain. His nostrils flaring, the tall man stopped, quivering, in the centre of the circle before Rosette, turning his head briefly to glance at Chrono. "And Mr. D'Crusa. I should've known. Come with me. You will both have detention for at least a month."

"But-" Azmaria started, jumping forward.

"Principal Maloney-"

"Sir-"

"Dad!"

"SILENCE!" he roared, sending the students scuttling back. "Go to your homerooms."

"But Chrono didn't do anything!" Rosette pleaded, casting a glance his way. Chrono made a 'forget it' motion with his hands and shrugged, following Maloney calmly...but there was no air of meekness in the glower he threw back at Aion. "Chrono didn't do anything." She repeated, ignoring his warning look.

"He raped you, Ms. Christov, or so I've been told." they followed him into the office, passing the secretary, busy at the keyboard as an irritating crackle wrinkled the air. Somewhere in the room behind, people were laughing and chatting. There were an awful lot of them...

"He most certainly did not! Chrono no more fucked me than- than-" Behind them, the secretary gasped, fumbling with something as the loud crackling stopped suddenly, replaced with static.

"Don't tell me..." Rosette breathed, her face paling.

"The P.A. was on." Chrono groaned, rubbing his temples

This was not how he'd planned on starting back at school.

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	56. Fangs

A/n: Hello every one! Da cat's back! - It's late for me to be starting a chapter, 7:25am, but hey, twenty minutes is a good place to make a stab, isn't it? I'm sorry if I'm slow reading chapters/ reviewing chapters. I'm trying to keep this on schedule. However, I found out that one reader, Fantasy Traveller, has an original fiction story on called Throw Back. It's under the Supernatural category and under the pen name Fantasywriter150. You should check it out, and if any others out there have an original story posted on fictionpress, please let me know!

Disclaimer: I don't own it!

Chapter 56!---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"That HAD to be the most humiliating experience of my life." Rosette turned her head, eyeing Chrono.

"Definitely ranks up there." he didn't raise his head from the table, or even return her look. "Which part? The walking into history class after the P.A., the whistles in gym or the six guys who asked if you were available tonight OR the teachers disapproval, the month long detention-"

"Your nose is going to be flattened by the time you get up if you don't stop sitting like that. And what about the girl who asked you if you'd-" He sighed and sat up, rubbing his hands over his eyes. After a moment though, he smiled weakly.

"It could be worse. Anyway, all you did was get us a month's worth of detention and get the whole school high on rumours."

"You're the one who fell out of bed on top of me, you ass!" She yanked on his cheek.

"Excuse me? You fell on top of me!"

"What! You sayin' this is my fault!"

"Are they at it again?" Satella groaned, peering around the shelf.

"Yup." Azmaria smiled weakly. "They are. But then, I don't blame them. You shouldn't have said anything Satella."

"Me? Why not? It'll do them good to have some rumours floating around about them. Might give them a push."

"Yeah, towards insanity." Joshua noted, watching Rosette fling a box of encyclopaedias at Chrono. "You trying to get Chrono killed?"

"No. I'm trying to get him a girlfriend." Satella winced as the table crashed over. "But usual methods won't work on Rosette."

"Well, getting them into this on Chrono's first day back was rather inhuman, Satella." Viede grumbled, leaning against the shelves as another crash clattered into the air. "I mean, did you see the look on their faces when they walked into history and everyone started whistling? I thought Rosette was going to kill someone. Most likely Chrono. We all know that he didn't touch her."

"A pity." Azmaria went red as they all looked at her. "I- I didn't mean that! And why are we trying to get Rosette and Chrono together anyway? If they love each other, then they'll tell each other." Joshua burst out laughing but silenced quickly as Rosette glanced their way.

"As if!" He snorted. "Those two? They could be entirely infatuated with each other and never once say a word."

"And MAYBE it's because we don't like each other like that, or MAYBE it's because we don't NEED to say anything because WE know it and DON'T need everyone ELSE to know." Rosette glowered at them from the tabletop, cracking her knuckles. "Now then. WHOSE idea was it to spread rumours?" her blazing eyes slid from Satella to Azmaria to Joshua to Viede to Fi to Roy to Brad to Claire and back to Satella, leaving them all to cower. "Weeeeeellll?"

"Ro-Rosette, calm down!" Chrono tugged lightly at her arm. "Relax. Beating them up isn't going to help-" the class bell blared through the halls, sending the students scrambling to escape its piercing howls.

"Oop! Time for Acting!" Satella squeaked, darting away.

"I'm going to KILL you!" Rosette flew after her, waving the box of encyclopaedias.

"She's insane." Roy grumbled, waving to Nancy. The girl snorted and turned her head away, marching down the opposite corridor. "Damn. Women."

"No kidding." Brad said, rubbing a bruise on his cheek. "That's from when I asked her out."

"You asked Rosette out?" Chrono raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Don't try it."

"Oh I don't know about that, Brad." Roy jogged backward in front of them, dodging the crack in the tiles. "I think Chrono might be the one with the best shot at her. Maybe she likes the domestic type." Brad chuckled and Chrono rolled his eyes.

"I'm not the domestic type! That's not like Rosette anyway. Except..." he shrugged, his eyes darting to the flitter of aura around the corner. "No. It's more than that." He smiled softly, leaving Roy and Brad to shrug at each other as the three boys wandered toward the gym.

"D'Crusa man, you gotta work on your masculinity. That dreamy look in your eyes is way too girly."

"Of course he's girly!" Billy teased, throwing a crushed can at Chrono. "Gay ass!" Chrono caught the can and dropped it into the garbage can as they passed, barely glancing at Billy as they went into the gym and Roy and Brad headed for the stage.

He stood shyly to the side as everyone raced to whatever part of the gym they were working in, the actors to the stage, the set designers to the rear left, musicians to the front left...everyone seemed to know where to go but him! Rosette...he spotted her up on the stage, chasing Brad around in a manner that definitely wasn't in the script.

"She's quite the wild one, your Rosette." Ms. Harvenhiet said softly, stepping out of the dressing room, joining him. "And you? You look lost now, but I think you've found your way, haven't you?" The red haired woman smiled. "I...you're both so different from back then, and I'm still the same."

"We are...different people, although our souls have faced the same trials, over and over again." Chrono tucked a stray strand of hair out of his face, watching Claire, Fi and Azmaria sang their song while the set designers tried to figure out placements for props, as lighting people dropped cables left right and centre... "What a mess. I-" Ms. Harvenhiet glanced down at the ex-demon as he fiddled with his sleeve. "I wish we had..." he trailed off as a short, mousy girl with a pair of brown braids and large glasses crept over, her freckled face shy.

"Um...Chrono?" she inched up, biting on her nail. "Can- can I speak with you?"

"Sure, if you like. Sammy right? You play Shader."

"Yes! Yes that's me!" Chrono smiled as her cheeks flushed bright pink and her eyes lit up, but her shivering aura caught his attention. Dark, navy and black, with shades of red. "Come on!" Grinning the girl grabbed his hand. Instantly, the wave hit, black and roiling, putrid and foul and very, very demonic.

"S-Sammy!" his eyes widened, for there was something, something strong, waiting. Sammy turned, pulling him towards the fire escape.

"What?" she frowned as she caught his look, tossing her hair from her eyes. "We're alike, aren't we?"

"I don't-" the fire escape door shut behind them, blocking out the noise and bustle from the gym, casting them into a world of greyed slush and rust. Everything was covered in the slush; even the snow on the rooftops was sludgy and grey.

"What? Don't tell my you haven't noticed. I mean yes, you haven't been here for awhile, and my aura wasn't so strong last time, but surely you must have known. You and I...we're the same." A forked tongue licked her lips, her grin revealing short, red stained fangs.

"We're both monsters, aren't we?" He backed up, feeling behind him for the door. "Chrono the sinner." There. He turned the knob as she leapt towards him, fangs bared.

The door was locked.

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"Chrono! You- you- idiot!" Rosette screamed at the towering door, banging on the metal, the sound reverberating out through the gym as it shut, cutting her off from her beloved partner...

Who was now in deadly combat with a light cable.

"CUT!" Aion bellowed, stomping onto the set. "Rosette! Put some feeling into it, will you! And Brad! I don't CARE if you get tangled up, you must play your part! When you look back having seen Rosette fall, howl her name! Feel the fear! This is your beloved contractor and I'm- ahem, a demon is going to kill her. Howl! Scream! And you idiots! Who's idea was it-" Rosette rolled her eyes as he went off ranting to some petrified seventh graders who were attempting to do the lighting, poor things. "Have you forgotten that the play takes place directly after Christmas holidays? It must be done before the mid term exams start! Are you planning to ruin everything?"

"Hey! That's enough!" Ms. Harvenhiet clacked over and pulled away one young girl who'd burst into tears under the barrage. "Aion Castov! They're kids! Give them a break!"

"There're no breaks in this business, Ms. Harvenhiet!"

"Ug." Rosette sat on the edge of the stage, dropping her head to her knees as a group of ninth graders pointed at her and giggled, whispering things like slut and whore. "Shut up you brats!" Rosette bellowed, charging after the preppy creeps.

Damn them! It was none of their business what she did or didn't do! "You better run!"  
"Aiii! Rosette's after us!" one screeched, her perfect blond hair tumbling in all directions as Rosette swung a black electric cable (still connected to the generator) over her head.

"Get back here!" her feet tore up the waxed tiles and she grabbed the first one, shaking her. "It is none of your business what I do, or who I do it with, IF I do it with anyone, which, by the way, I HAVEN'T! Now go tell that to your little friends!" she shoved the trembling teen back with her perfect little friends (who'd made no move to help her.) Cowards. Had it been her in the other girl's shoes, Chrono would've swooped in to help her. Speaking of which... a nervous prickle nipped along her neck as she noticed that she couldn't see him in the gym. Had he left? If he was in the room, she would've seen his aura if not him himself, but there was nothing except that prickling...Aion looped his arm through hers.

"Rosette, if it's not too much trouble, would you handle the next part? I have to watch you all perform your parts and assess you soon. I may not have to worry about you, but please keep an eye on the others.

"Get your hands off me, then we can talk. Then, start paying child support or let someone adopt the kids."

"What kids? And you've stopped asking me to take them back? That's a start. Have you become more attached to me, Ms. Rosette?"

"Hell NO!" She tried to shrug free of his arm, but he smiled placidly at the nearest teacher and continued walking her towards the stage.

"Tut tut, don't curse. I might have to clean your mouth out with my tongue. I hear it's very good for stopping curses."

"You stick anything from that mouth of yours in mine and I'll cut it off!" She yanked her arm free and jumped onto the stage.

"Are you threatening me?" Aion spread his hands and widened his eyes, an effect that did nothing.

"Chrono does the hurt puppy look much better without even trying." The stupid idiot. Her stupid idiot!

"Very well then. Take your places for the next scene." he clapped his hands, drawing up all the actors like cut threads for a tapestry. Unfortunately, he'd chosen both the wrong colours and didn't know how to weave.

Brad/Chrono stood up, clutching his side. He was supposed to be on the other side of the door.)

"Have...you gone, Rosette? It's gotten pretty quiet out there." he jumped back from the attacking demon, pulling out his sword. "Good. Don't look back. Don't look back. Don't look-huh?" In the final performance, there was a puff of smoke and different lighting whenever he transformed, so no one would see him haul off the red coat and pants to reveal the other outfit. Here, however, there was none of that, so without ceremony, Brad yanked off this coat...and succeeded in tangling it around his foot and shoulder. "Gah!" with a yelp, he hopped around trying to get it off, tripping on the wire from before and dragging over the one piece of set that had been figured out, the giant backdrop roll that let them do all the different backgrounds.

"Hit the deck!"  
"Run!" Rosette dove from the stage, grabbing Brad and Azmaria as the set lunged from the ceiling, scattering the designers and the painters.

"I got my shirt off!" Brad yelled happily, waving it around amidst the glares. "Oh..."

"Brad!" Aion stalked over. "Will you try not to be a clown? Everyone, start picking things up!"

"Give me a hand with this." Rosette grabbed one end of the set roll and Brad hefted the other.

"Hey. Where's Chrono gone in all of this? The prickling on her neck had turned into an all out buzz, and his aura kept peaking and dropping, wherever it was.

"Hey Rosette!" Azmaria ran over, Roy and the others at her heels.

"Not the band." Joshua teased, poking at her.

"Better stop it Joshua," Roy smirked. "Someone might steal your girlfriend." he pointed to where Brad was chatting with Fi.

"You were great today, Rosette!" Az gushed, ignoring Joshua as they headed for the cafeteria.

"Yeah. You didn't actually break anything." Satella threw a pen at Brad. "You on the other hand..."

"Aw shut up." the other grumbled, his face red. "Was it my fault the electrician people left a wire out?"

"Hey, you blamin' us?" Claire huffed.

"Yeah, I am."

"Nye-ah you ain't!" they found their table and sat down with a minimal amount of name-calling and food throwing.

"So." Roy said cheerily around a bite of ramen noodles. "Did Chrono skip off? I haven't seen him since beginning of Acting."

"I don't know. He disappeared."

"Come to think about it, Sam disappeared too."

"Sam?" Rosette blinked.

"You know, the shorty who plays Shader." Joshua imitated the girl's habit of fiddling with her glasses.

"Maybe she and Chrono decided to have... some fun." Roy chuckled. "Man I-" he paled, Rosette's fingers curling around his neck.

"You were saying?" she growled squeezing tight enough to turn him blue before pushing her food away. "I'm going to go find him." The buzz had risen to a whistling scream, and it was driving her insane.

Where was he?

"Hey Rosette!" Satella yelled. "I think I saw him and Sam head for the fire escape!"

"Thanks!" Fire escape mm? Well, it was too cold for anything dishonest- wait! Why was she thinking that! Chrono wouldn't... damn, all that... talk had made her a pervert! She ground her teeth. Still, how could he just disappear like that on her! It was rude!

"Chrono..." she was being silly, worrying like this. She edged her way into the crowded gym, inching herself over to the fire escape through the crowd of running, sweating, basketball-playing juniors, the music hammering at her ears. Finally, she made it to the brown metal door and gave it a push.

It didn't budge. Frowning, since fire escapes were supposed to be easy to open, she pave it a second push. It moved a little, but it brought up on something outside.

"Damn it! OPEN!" she barked, giving the offending door a boot.

WHAM!

"Yarg!" Sammy scrambled, slipping, to get up, her glasses askew and blood dripping from her fangs. Fangs?

Blood!

"What did you do!" Rosette snarled, charging onto the fire escape, ignoring the door as it shut. "What are-" her foot hit something soft, giving and Sammy grinned, backing away from Rosette as she stooped, patting at Chrono's ashen face, trying not to panic at his eyes, half open and dulled to brown.

"You may wish to hurry, Rosette." The girl's eyes, a cloudy glowing black, glittered, leering. "His blood it quite intoxicating. I may have...taken too much." Rosette swallowed, shaking him a little. C'mon, she urged. Wake up. Say something. His aura flickered briefly before slumping, a thick, choking, smoky black slowly bleeding through.

"You wench! What did you do to him!"

"I simply...took him out to lunch." Sammy laughed, the high cackle turning to a scream as Rosette lunged at the her, grabbing her shoulders as they both crashed through the rusting fence of the fire escape, the reddened metal raining down as they plunged to the ground, wrestling in the air amid the falling snow.

------------------------------------------------------------------End chapter 56------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Some people have told me this is getting to long, and I know that. SO. I have a question this chapter. During the chapter, one of the characters said something, and Joshua said 'not the band'. What band was he talking about?


	57. More Time Related Problems

A/N: Ok, I'm the queen of writing confusing, weird chapters, but hey, I do my best. Well, not particularly to make it confusing, but I seem to be real good at that too. Down ears What can I do? sulk Actually, I have no idea what you guys thought of the last chapter, but I assume I'll know sooner or later. Now then. By the way, this chapter goes out to Olynara Sedai. Their answer was the most creative, even if it wasn't right. The answer was: Hey Rosetta.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono, Rosette, Az...blah blah blah. You know by now.

Chapter 57!

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_"Damn it! Grey, come on!" Grey blinked as the bed beneath him disappeared and was replaced by the flagstone floor._

_"Wha-" he sneezed, the sunshine feathers of his partner dusting across his face. "Golden-"_

_"Not now! We've got to get to earth!" She skidded around the corner and barged through Superior's room without stopping, charging down over the stairs and bursting, two streaks of lightning, into the afternoon sky. They flew, shooting past the blurs of building, cars, people, lurching to a stop over the school. "Where are they!" Golden muttered, flitting from corner to corner of the roof. _

_"Golden, calm down!"_

_"Calm down? How can I calm down at a time like this? How can you be so calm Grey!?" she scrambled across the roof, peering around every conceivable peak and into every cranny. _

_"Golden, RELAX!" Grey grabbed her, pulling her away from the edge as she stumbled. (Not that it mattered if she fell: they had wings after all, but it was the thought that counted.) "It's ok! I'm sure their fine!"_

_"Yeah, like you were sure you were ok when you flew out of bed and started bleeding all over the floor!"_

_'You didn't seem too worried about the floor this morning when you shoved me onto it!"_

_"That was different!"_

_"Sure, sure, now calm down. Look, I'm sure their ok. We didn't see any souls ascending to heaven on the way here, so they're fine."_

_"But Chrono's wouldn't have ascended! It's just going to go POOF! And-" Grey groaned and wrapped his arms around the panicking angel._

_"Look, will you!? This is Antham we're talking about! After messing up in the start of this, she's certainly not going to again!"_

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"Kyaaa!"

"Stop screaming you little witch!" Rosette roared, shaking at Sammy as the wind tossed snow about and tore their hair asunder.

"But I don't wanna dieeeeee!" Sammy clung to her, wailing.

"Ya? Well you should've thought of that before you attached Chrono!" She whacked the girl/demon/whatever.

"What's it to you who I attack! You aren't a demon trapped in a frikken human body!" Sammy squealed, clawing back at her. "But I don't wanna die! I'm only 500 years o-o-old!"

"Erg! Stop whining!" Rosette gave the wailing girl another bop on the head.

"I'm not whining!"

"About living 500 years? Yes you are!" Whap.

"But living that long sucks!" Bonk.

"I'd say!"

"I deserve another 500 years! That's why I need Chrono's blood!" Scratch.

"Monster! You can't just take someone's blood without asking!" Wonk.

"So! You humans steal hearts all the time without asking! I've heard about it all the time!" Crasha!

"You dunce! Not literally!" Thwonlk!

"Who're you calling a dunce!" Scrob.

"You think they're ever going to notice they haven't hit the ground yet?" Brad grumbled, nodding to the vampire/whatever he was holding by the collar, now trying to scratch at Rosette.

"Probably not." Joshua sighed. "Hey. Up you come you two." The two teens pulled girls, still fighting, up onto the fire escape where Ms. Harvenhiet was dabbing at Chrono's neck.

"You did a good job on him Sam, but next time, not so much. Ah well! He's mine to hug!" She squealed as Rosette knocked her away, glaring.

"Aaaw." Sammy pouted, "You're no fun! How can I do my job and-"

"Your JOB?!?" Rosette sputtered, whacking Chrono over the head as he started to come round.

"Ow!" He rubbed his head, scowling at her, but Rosette didn't notice.

"Hey."

"What do you mean job, you little monster?"

"Hey."

"Hey, you're the reincarnation of a nun who loved a demon! Watch the racism!"

"Hey you two! Are you planning to stand out in the snow all day, or are you coming in?" Brad rolled his eyes, holding open the door. Sam and Rosette stopped, craning their necks as the snow flitted about them, tiny winter fairies painting pictures on the glass, the ground, the clouds, the sky, turning the ground white and their fingers blue.

"Kya!"

"Cold!" The girls ran inside, their soggy sneakers slipping on the gym floor as they slithered and skidded over to the hall doors, heading for the ever 'quiet' of the library.

"Ok, Miss Vampire thingy," Rosette growled as they sat down at a table. "What the heck did you do to Chrono?"

"Rosette, I'm fine!"

"See?" Sammy smirked to Ms. H. "He's fine. He said so himself."

"How do you two know each other anyway?" Rosette growled, kicking Chrono under the table. "And you can't say you're fine is you were passed out a few minutes ago!"

"He wasn't passed out! I put him in a trance so it wouldn't hurt!"

"While you were sucking him dry!"

"Well, I had to take out some blood with the astral to-" Sammy clapped as hand over her mouth, her eyes widening. Rosette's eye twitched and she lent across the table, hooking her fingers through Sammy's collar.

"...'with the astral'?" I thought vampires just wanted blood and that because theirs was gone."

"Do I look like a vampire ot you?" Sammy barked. "Look will you! Brown hair, not black hair! I'm flushed, vampires don't blush! Do you understand!"

"Guys, take it easy!" Chrono warned, smiling tersely at the librarian. He pushed the two girls apart, gesturing at Brad to hold Sam while he took Rosette. She was furious, he knew, and she was worried, but that was ok.

"Lemme go Chrono!" Whack! Whap. Conk. Shutting his eyes against the barrage, he held on, his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Well," Ms. H said, her eyes following the trail of a seventh grade boy as he went from shelf to shelf, putting away books. "Since Sam's to busy, I'll explain how we me!" Grinning, she sat back; folding her hands on her lap and became serious, the laughter gone.

"I met Sammy, as she's known here, in 1999- hey! are you listening!" She yelled as Rosette tried to wiggle away from Chrono, knocking both teens to the carpeted floor in a cloud of dust.

"Yes!" Chrono squeaked as Rosette shook him.

"Chrono! What's the deal! You trying to protect the little vampire-"

"She's only doing her job! She wouldn't have killed me, although warning would be nice." Ms. H slapped her forehead as the bell rang.

"Are you lot so used to weird situations that you don't question it anymore?" she grumbled as Rosette tore down the hall after Sammy, Chrono's protests lost amongst the teeming students.

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"Ok, so let's get this strait." Rosette grumbled, tugging her mittens further up her arms. "You have been living for 500 years, you're not a vampire, but you drink blood. Care to elaborate?" Sammy sighed, sticking her hands in her pockets and catching a snowflake on her tongue.

"Aren't they pretty?"

"Sam! Focus here!" Bwap!

"I can't believe this." Chrono muttered, shaking his hair from his eyes.

Life had just gotten really crazy again. He'd only been in school what? A few hours? In that time he'd managed to get bitten by one of Rosette fellow actors who'd then drank some of his blood- and they were talking rationally about it? Rosette, it would seem, he noted, shared his thoughts now that she'd calmed down, but...

It was still weird enough to be considered normal, which explained why they were walking about the harbour front in the middle of the snow.

"Alright, alright." Sammy rolled her eyes as they entered Food and Friends and sat down. "I'm not a vampire and technically speaking, I don't drink blood. I drink life force, or astral, I believe it's called in the play."

"And you were drinking mine?"

"Yup." Sam smiled. "It's my job! You see, I'm kinda like a god of death! God tells me how much to drink, and I drink it. It's because I'm a half demon. But whatever. I have to take some blood while I do, and my department is specifically with demon souled people, mainly because I'm part demon. Cool huh?"

"So...if you're the god of death, why can we see you?" Rosette was tempted to smack herself in the forehead. This was getting too weird. She settled for smacking Chrono instead.

"I said 'like'." Sam huffed. "Don't make me get depressed. Anyway, Chrono's my latest assignment! But your astral tastes funny. Like vanilla. Man, I hate vanilla. Now chocolate, I love it when astral tastes like chocolate! All smooth and creamy..." Rosette glanced at Chrono who'd started to chuckle at Sammy, who grinned and joined him until all three were laughing. Suddenly, Chrono frowned, his eyes darkening.

"Sam?"

"I'm such a diiiitttzzee!" she laughed, gulping down her hot chocolate. "What?"

"You said you were taking my astral."

"I said it was my job."

"So then..." Chrono stirred his drink before handing it to Rosette as she stared at him with pleading eyes. He set his shoulders, raising his head. "Then I take it to mean, you've shortened my life. How long do I have left?"

"Ah-er-" Sam ran a hand through her hair, now hanging in wet clumps around her face since she'd taken in out of her braids.

"Time-" Rosette choked. What hadn't she thought of that! Chrono didn't meet her look, his eyes trained on Sam, but he was frightened. Resolute, but frightened. Regardless of what he'd said to Superior about not caring about death...biting her lip, Rosette slid across the tan bench and squeezed his hand, holding it tightly as Sammy blanched, glancing at the counter for a distraction.

"Time- left you mean? Or how much I took..." she trailed off, slumping as her eyes avoided those of the couple across the table, those who's contrasting eyes probed, afraid but asking. "I- I didn't take much." she confessed. "I was told not to but..."

"But?" Rosette croaked, a thunderstorm seeming to have built in her head, throbbing at her muddled head and pushing at her nerves.

"Shh. You're fine." Chrono hissed, his arm going around her, clinging.

Neither was sure whose sake it was for.

"But you didn't have much time left to begin with." Sam ran a hand over her face, taking off her glasses.

Outside, the snow still fell, soft, unheeding, swirling around people wandering about in their lives, dancing around the slogging cars, skittering across the ice and around the boats docked in the harbour, awaiting the spring.

"You might make it to the end of January, if you don't have another vision."

"If I do?" Rosette felt ice clawing it's way into her lungs as Sam turned her mug, chewing her lip as if she was thinking, calculating.

"If you do..." she would chew through her lip soon. "Early January, but that's..." she turned away. "that's pushing it." she said quietly. "If you have another bad one..." he would be lucky to make it past new years.

"I see." Chrono shifted, turning and pressing his face into Rosette's hair, the softly playing jazz music lost to him as they sat, trapped. Stilling her shaking hands, Rosette hugged him back.

She'd have to be strong. She had to be. They had to be.

"Don't worry." she hissed. "It'll work out." He pulled back, grinning.

"Who's worried. Anyone up for some chocolate? I'll go buy some."

"Idiot, of course you're worried."

"Lay off." she followed his to the counter, leaving Sam to stare at the paper through her blurred vision.

It was dated November 21.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------End chapter 57--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Ok, this is definitely counted as the weirdest, most bizarre thing I've written (according to me) and that's including every dream sequence in this story! The reason it's so weird? 'Cause it wasn't supposed to happen, that's why! It just sort of popped out while I was writing and I didn't think...so I'm sorry. However, we do have a time limit now. Dun dun dun!!


	58. Snowy Surprises

A/n: Well, I posted the chapter last night, but I can't get onto to find out what you guys thought about my last (weirdest) chapter of the story. So, I guess then that I'll have to just keep on writing. Actually, I started rereading this, because I couldn't remember what had happened in past chapters...I have all the story written so far on a separate file, without author's notes...it's something like 211 pages long. sweatdrop Good grief.

Ah! This chapter goes out to **FlipprNL** by the way, for being cool enough to read a fanfic about story he's never read, all for the sake of a crazy teenager. So, FlipprNL, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! I promise to practice EXTRA hard, ok! Sneko grabs clarinet and runs off to practice... "Gah!" Ducks and hides as cries of "IT'S 6:30am! GO BACK TO BED!" Echo around the town.

Ah well, on we go!

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade. I only own Sammy, Roxanne, Brad, the 1st Satella (not Ms. H), Termel, Austy, and all the other oc in the story. I don't own St. John's either. If I did, I'd have a lot of taxes to pay.

Chapter 58 (Gah! Almost at 60! And I have over 600 reviews...shock)

_"Golden?" Grey stuck his head around the door, his shoulders slumping as he saw the velvet curtains were drawn and all the torches reduced to cowering by the blue shadows slumbering by the walls, across the floor, parted only by the occasional startled jump from the torches as he walked past, stopping by the bed. "Golden?" There was a sniffle from inside, followed by a hiccup. "Oh Golden." Grey whispered, setting his candle on the side table. "Shh." He pushed to curtain aside long enough to slip through and shut it again, running his fingers over the soft material as he did, listening to the soft wish it made across the flagstones._

_"Go. Away. Grey." Golden rolled away, tugging the down blankets over her head and sticking her head under the pillows as he nudged at her shoulder._

_"That's not going to work, you know." he murmured, pulling his wings tight to his back as he lay down, rubbing her back, his cheek emerged in the river and waves of golden strands that cascaded over the black satin pillow slip. _

_"I said go away." Her voice was scratchy, choked, still muffled by the other pillow._

_"I can't, I'm afraid, Little One." The pillow came down, pulled by her long white fingers as she turned a swollen blue eye to him, peeping out._

_"You never call me that anymore." He smiled sadly, his violet eyes soft. _

_"I was in idiot, then." Carefully, he picked up a silver feather from his wing and tickled her chin with it, meandering it up over her jaw, past her cheekbones, around her ears, down her neck, smiling as she wiggled._

_"Stop." she gulped, her eyes filling with tears, pulling at the pillow to hide again._

_"Umf! Not this time!" he mock-growled, pulling it from her fingers and tossing it to the foot of the bed. "You don't need to hide that pretty face of yours," he coaxed as she yanked the blankets over her head, turning her back to him. _

_"I said go away." _

_"No Golden." he slid under the blankets, pulling the shivering girl over to his side of the bed. "I think that side's a bit damp. You'll get a chill."_

_"Why won't you leave me alone? You wouldn't have come near me before!" she struggled to pull from his grasp, but gave up, rolling turning over and dropping her head onto the soft white tunic he was wearing, fingering the fine knit of the cloth, rubbing it to her dripping cheek. "You always were so mean. I wish you were now."_

_"Some wishes don't come true." Grey warned, hooking her hair back from her face. To his horror, she burst into fresh tears._

_"I know that! I know it, I know! You have no right-" Grey moaned, cursing his choice of words. _

_So that was what this was over._

_"Golden, if this is what God wants-"_

_"Then we have to let it happen! Don't preach me, Sinner. You're the one who turned from Superior." She spat, her eyes darkening. Grey smirked. _

_"You seem to have a thing for guys who do that, don't you? Well Golden," he lurched forward, burrowing his face into the covers on her other side, hiding his smile as she gasped in surprise, trapped between his tunic covered chest and the bed. "Golden?" She gulped, shivering as his wing brushed across her face, the feathers whispering to each other, calling to hers. _

_"Wh-what?"_

_"There's a reason for everything, right?"_

_"You're Fate, you should know."_

_"But...I don't seem to 'fate' everything. I have little control, I do what I'm told, I lay groundwork. Where you're born, what happens, toss in a few obstacles...but anyone can do that. I don't control people's destinies, yet I am fate... So…"_

_"So?" she turned her face, his moonlight hair settling over her shoulders. They were such opposites._

_"So why do I...so why am I..." he stilled, lying, just breathing, his eyelashes, silver with black tips, were fanned together, covering his eyes._

_"Grey?" He jumped, rolling back to his side of the bed._

_"Don't worry about it, Golden," he said, the words jumbling shakily out. "I- there's a reason for this, but more than that, I'm sure it will work out."_

_"I'm not that naive." she snorted, her back pressing to his, their wings tangling together. _

_"Try to be, Golden. You need to be a bit naive to- to wish."_

_"Wishes don't come true." she snapped, a sob biting at her throat._

_"Nothing will happen if you don't try." he murmured, shutting his eyes, hoping, wanting...wishing._

_"You're contradicting everything you ever told me, Grey."_

_"You're doing the same." he didn't look at her. Not yet. "Now wish."_

_"FINE!" she snapped. "I wish you'd-"_

_"Seriously." he felt her still, her breath pausing for a minute._

_"I wish for their happiness." he slipped his arms around her, putting his lips to her ear as her breathing evened out._

_"I'll do my best, Golden." Wishes were hard to grant, there were so many of them, and this really wasn't something he had much control in...but then, Antham, or Sammy as she was known in the human world, had already taken the first step._

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"Chrono?"

"Yes?"

"Nothing." Rosette stopped, watching as snowflakes fluttered to the inky water and vanished, swallowed by the little swells plapping against the rusted hulls of the winter ships clinging to their moors.

"You know, some of these come in every year." Chrono paused, pointing to a large blue and lime green ship huddling against the bumpers, the large green bird painted on its side soaring though the snow covered night. "Heh, when I was little, I'd mark winter as having arrived when the Sabe came in." Rosette smiled, her fingers hugging his more tightly as they wandered through the cotton covered downtown, the streetlamps providing little pools of soft yellow light between the Christmas lit windows of the little boutiques and shops. Occasionally a car would struggle by, leaving its limping trail in the white blanket of the street, but for the most part, it was silent, a star peeping here and there through the flakes as the couple walked on, hands latched tightly together as they dodged the drifts, meandering down the water front, their eyes looking, probing the darkness for the dream they shared.

"Hey. Look." Chrono pointed to the untouched end of the waterfront, where the snow had piled up into a creamy layer. "Wait a minute." He dropped her hand, darting over, the clouds of his breath light in the air as he flopped down in the cool snow, spreading his arms and legs, letting the snow pass between his blue fingers as the design appeared, glittering in the moonlight as the shining orb's eye peered briefly through the clouds. When he finished, he lay still, his face upturned to the crystals, his hair darkening as it spread across the snow.

"You idiot. You're covered." Rosette grumbled, smiling against herself as he stood up and stepped away from the snow angel, brushing silver moisture from his ragged sweater.

"What? Don't tell me you never make snow angels."

"I haven't for a long time. I never could get it right." Cautiously, she lay down in the snow and spread her arms to the coolness, her skin shivering beneath her coat as it slipped under her collar. "Ooh! Ooh! Cold!" She squealed, jumping up, trying to get the wretched stuff from down her neck! "Chrono you jerk." She snapped, flinging a snowball at him.

"Haha! Ow!" he shook snow from his glasses, glaring at her. "Meany!" A second snowball followed the first to hit him in the face. "Rosette!"

"What?"

Thwup. His snowball crumbled against her shoulder, scattering the flakes all over her.

"Jerk!" Several snowballs later, they went back to crunching their way back home.

"Chrono?" the paused by the tin shop, watching a small train circle, round and round, in the window, the tiny people forever cheering as they stood, waiting by their neighbours houses.  
"Mmhmm?" he didn't look at her, crouching down to get a better look at the train, his face lit by the flickering blue lights that blinked their way around the large window. Rosette bit her lip, watching the lights play on his face, glittering on the snowflakes caught in his hair as he drew designs on the brick window ledge. Why? Why couldn't they stay like this forever? Why couldn't they just stop time, run away, let the world swirl on...why couldn't they just be?

Why did he have to die? She sniffed, shivering, running her hands up and down her arms.

"Rosette?" his upturned face questioned her silence but she shook her head.

"I- it's nothing."

"I'm going to start thinking that's the only thing in your vocabulary besides idiot." he teased. "You're shaking."

"What? I am not-" his sweater dropped over her shoulders, damp but warm.

"Come on Rosette, don't worry." he smiled, holding out a hand. "Walk with me." his arms were covered in goose pimples, she noticed as their fingers wound together again.

"Wait." She forced him to stop. "You're going to get sick if you don't wear warm enough clothes. I have a coat."

"But-" She handed him back the sweater, glaring at him until he put it on. "Good. Now bend over." he raised his eyebrows as she clambered onto his back, slipping her arms around his shoulders.

"Carry me."

"Aw- Rosette!" he whined softly, but she smiled, for he'd already continued walking. Sighing, she rested her chin on his shoulder, listening as their hearts pounded, beat-beat, rest; beat-beat, rest; beat-beat rest.

"Chrono?" they stopped at a red light, waiting for it to change despite the lack of traffic. Anything for more time.

"I know." the light changed and he continued, walking beneath the naked branches stretching, reaching the moon. "You too."

"I know..." eyes closed, she pressed closer, feeling every long-legged step he took." Chrono?"

"Uh huh." she glanced up, spotting the house. Damn, it was so close!

"I don't think you're an idiot."

"You've been proven right so far. Why change now?"

"Maybe we both are?" he set her down on the porch, turning to brush rogue snowflakes from her face as she spoke, his hands distracting her.

"I think maybe you're right." he said, slowly, softly, nuzzling her with his voice, leaning closer.

"Just this time, on this subject." she shut her eyes, turning her face up, waiting...waiting. She peeked at him and he smiled.

"You're pretty."

"Yeah?" she squawked, her hands on her hips. "You little- mmf!"

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"Are they back yet?" Kye grumbled, stomping into the living room.

"Yes. Shh!" Marie hissed from the couch where she, Nina and Tawny were peeping through the curtains. "Just wait." Kye rolled his eyes.

"Girls and mushy stuff." he muttered, stomping over to the couch to join the girls watching the couple kissing on the front porch until the duo parted, standing side by side as the snow fell: glittering, cool breaths of shimmering winter in the frosted night.

"Hey guys! What'cha doing? I brought company-"

"Shut up!" Kye hissed to Az, turning back to the window as the girl came over, dragging Jake with her.

"Are they back yet? I'm starving!" Satella complained, clomping in in a pair of thick-soled black boots, Viede at her heels, his nose jammed in a copy of Hamlet. "Heey... What's this?" she shoved Azmaria aside, rolling her eyes as she too looked out the window. "Idiots! They're looking at the stupid snow and WE'RE starving!" she growled, hammering on the glass until both Chrono and Rosette looked back. "COME IN YOU IDIOTS!"

"Satella!" Azmaria protested, waving her arms as the older teen marched to the front door. "Wait Satella! Oh come on! Give them some time together! Satella!" the pale haired girl slumped as the other ignored her.

"What took you guys so long! You've been gone for hours! I'm starving, and so are the rest of us!" Az groaned, and Jake put an arm around her shoulders.

"Come on Az, they'll get over it."

"But this ALWAYS happens! Always!"

"Uncle Chrono!" Nina cheered, bounding over and latching her short arms around his legs. Then her face darkened, peering up at him, questioning.

"What always happens?" Chrono asked mildly, tossing his shoes on the shelf as he waved his glasses, trying to clear the steam. Satella's screams echoed around the house.

"Give a girl some space, would'ja!" Rosette roared, chasing the other upstairs. Chrono smiled, lifting Nina.

"I think my lawyer's working on it anyway. Ug, I think you're getting to heavy for this little lady!" he tickled her, swinging her gently as he headed for the kitchen, snagging his apron from its hook. "Kino! Marie! Tawny, Kye, Ben, come on!"

"But Uncle Chrono I don't wanna! It isn't my turn today!"

"Yeah! Doing dishes is girly stuff."

"Stop whining!" Rosette snapped, glowering at Kino and Kye. "Chrono does the dishes, are you calling him girly?" She handed Nina a cloth and lifted her so she could wash the table. She sniffled, swishing the cloth over the chipped surface. Kye rolled his eyes.

"Duh! Of course he's girly! He's being a parent!" Chrono laughed, looking up as the door opened, admitting a gust of ice.

"Nice to see someone's having fun." Heather muttered blacked, kicking off her high heels and dropping her bag on the couch. "Ug."

"I take it things didn't go so well at the office? She was looking into other law offices here." he informed Rosette as Heather stumbled past, tottering down into the basement. "Kye!"

"What."

"Take that down to her, will you?" He tossed his nephew a can of coke and resumed chopping. "Anyone know whose here for supper?"

"Nope."

"Jake's here! And Joshua called earlier to say that he and Fi would be back in time for supper with Brad and Roy. Roy's bringing Nancy! Oh! That girl from Austy's called, Tina, right? She's coming with Claire, and I think Mr. Remington is-"

"WHAT!?" Chrono backed to the counter, his eyes huge. "What the _heck_! Why the heck is EVERYONE coming over?"

"For the beginning of December party!" Azmaria cheered. "What? We've been planning this for..." she paused, noticing the dumfounded expressions. "Ah...you...didn't...know? Joshua! There you are!" the small teen whirled on the other as he and Fi stepped in. "Why didn't you tell them!"

"Me? Satella was supposed to!"

"I was not!" Satella harrumphed, waltzing down in a dress, Viede (no longer reading) at her side. "Fi was."

"Jake was."

"Me? Az, you were!"

"I wasn't!"

"What the hell? And you didn't TELL us!" Rosette screeched, bonking people in all directions.

"Enough!" Chrono yelled over the growing din, silencing them. "Now, before I shut this down all together out of sheer annoyance, whose coming?" His scowled then paled as the conspirators listed off the invitees. He stood, silent for a minute when they stopped, rubbing his eyes. "Well."

"Well what?" Az probed, chewing her lip. "I'm sorry you didn't know, I thought-" he held up a hand.

"Next time this happens, I kill you guys. As it is, if we're going to pull this off, I'll need help. That means you too Satella." He added as the woman started to slink away. He grinned. "Didn't you sat you were hungry? Now, let's figure out how this will work!"

-------------------------------------------End chapter 58------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: And that's a new time, new place! Next chapter: party preparations!


	59. An Unwanted Guest Returns

A/N: Hallo! Welcome to this new chapter of New Time, New Place! Sneko here.

McB: Me too, unfortunately.

Sneko: Don't be a grumpy kitty McB! Tweaks McB's ear And stop daydreaming about X-kun! Concentrate on the story!

McB: What? Blinks, looking dazed, then realized Sneko is tying her ears together.

McB: Ow! Bonk

Sneko: McB That huuuuurrrrtttt! sniffles

McB: Hey. Here's some advice. Go to Riku54- Vincent's demon's profile and check out their site! It's just starting out, but it's very cool!

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade

Chapter 59!!!!!

_He wandered clacked down the steep steps to earth, whistling. Oh parties. They were such fun! Smirking, he stepped into his body, sitting up and rubbing sleep from his violet eyes and tying his white hair back for another day of fun!_

"Kya! Where do these go?" Satella screeched, leaping aside as Azmaria tottered in toting a huge stack of pizzas.

"Keep those filthy things AWAY from me! Are there enough chairs?"

"You nincompoop! Of course not!" Joshua growled. "I'm going to kill Chrono for this."

"There wouldn't be enough room anyway. Where is Chrono anyway?"

"Satella! Put the chairs in the living room. We aren't all going to fit in the kitchen, so use that as a buffet space. Jake!" Chrono shoved Jacob towards Azmaria, carrying a salad to the table. "Help her will you! The pizza's go in the dining room."

"I got the pop." Viede rumbled, striding in having just bought out the corner store both above and below them.

"Great. They go on the kitchen counter. Kino! Kye! Stop that!" Chrono darted between the other borders, snagging the beer from his two nephews.

"B-but Uncle Chrono!" Kye slurred.

"Into the basement you two, with the girls. I'll be down to check on you in a few minutes."

"Having fun?" Rosette smiled as he shook his head in surrender, holding up the beer.

"Do you know how many times I have to get this stuff away from the kids?"

"Chrono!" Jacob ran in, cheese dripping from his clothes. "Joshua threw a pizza at Azmaria!" Chrono rolled his eyes.

'What are you guys!" Rosette chuckled as he disappeared into the other room.

"He seems to be having fun." Heather smirked as a very sheepish trio were banished from the kitchen. Rosette raised an eyebrow, taking a swig from the beer Chrono had shoved in her hand as he went to rescue the kitchen.

"'Fun'? He seems fairly overrun to me."

"Oh no." Heather smiled. "I've never seen him so happy."

Rosette snorted. "You've barely seen him at all." Heather pouted as the door open and Roy, Nancy, Roxanne, Tina and Claire piled through the door just as there was a (small) explosion from the kitchen.

"We're ok!" Satella called as she and Viede staggered out, egg goo plastered to their faces.

"You idiot." Heather muttered. "Don't you know you NEVER put eggs in the microwave! Where's that little brother of mine?"

"You're Chrono's sister?" Tina asked, cutting in front of the older woman. "You aren't anything like that lecherous bastard of a brother of his are you?" The green haired girl narrowed her eyes, blocking the way to the kitchen. "If you are like his brother, I'll pound you before you take one step closer. The guys-"

"Tinaaaa." Chrono tugged her pigtail. "Hallo! Tina! Right here. Perfectly fine! Heather lives here. My invite. Sort of."

"Sort of? What's that supposed to mean you little brat!"

"Don't call Chrono a brat! Insulting him is my job!" Whack. Tina grinned as Rosette stormed over and womped Heather before dragging Chrono into the living room.

"They're getting on better and better now, aren't they?" Claire said, smiling as she watched Rosette his Chrono over the head. Tina winced.

"I'm glad I don't have to get put up with getting bonked every time I open my mouth."

"Well, Rosette's a good actor, to keep up such a front of love." Heather leaned on the doorframe, her foot tapping as music started bouncing out through speakers.

'What do you mean? I mean yeah, they must be scared with Chrono dieing and all but-"

"Not that! You don't think that Rosette _really _ loves him, do you?" Heather snorted, pulling out a cigarette. "My brother? I doubt it."

"And I doubt Chrono would approve of you smoking in the house." Rosette growled, plucking the cigarette from the woman's tapered and manicured fingers. "Honestly! Do you even listen to him? Oh. Hallo Mr. Remington! Ms. Valentine." Rosette gave Heather a final bop on the head before going to great the next guest. Tina smirked, her eyes sparkling.

"So, Heather. she doesn't love him eh? Oh Chrono" she skipped off to the kitchen, Claire at her heels.

"Hey Tina." Chrono waved, pulling Final Claw down from the curtains and hanging her to Marie. "Help yourselves guys. There's not enough room for us to sit, but hopeful"

"Chrono!"

"Urg!" Chrono yelped as Shader landed on top of him.

"Uwaaah! Feels like forever since I got back from the business trip, isn't that right Austy? Eee! Rosette!"

"Gah! Shader!" Bonk! "Enough with the hugs!"

"Aaaw! C'mon Rosie!" Austy shook his head as Shader whined.

"I wonder why I married her sometimes." He grumbled. Chrono laughed, handing him a plate.

"Yeah, well, emotions can be funny like that." Austy smiled, watching the teen's eyes creep across the room.

'Indeed!" he chortled, thumping his ex-employee on the back. "So, Chrono, have you found a new job yet? Ah Remington! Good day to ya!"

"Hi Mr. Remington." Chrono waved sheepishly, pushing his stringy bangs from his face. He was still soaked from his walk with Rosette.

"You look like a drowned rat." she agreed, stomping from the table with two slices of pizza, a pair of drinks, six rolls, a bowl of soup, three peanut butter sandwiches and the bowl of salad. "Here. I brought you some pizza."

"Naw, that's fine. I'm not really hungry."

"Chrono, you NEVER eat enough. You're going to starve."

"I'm fine Rosette. Really." he grabbed a box of pizza and handed it to Kino. "Make a big mess and you're on dishes duty for a week," he mock growled as his nephew squealed and ran to the basement. "Living room alright?" he asked, taking her tray.

"Hey! I can carry that!" she went to hit him, but stopped. If she hit him, the food would go flying. Chrono grinned.

"Ah ha! A Rosette proof shied!" Whack! Laughing, the duo wandered into the living room and settled into the chair in the far corner.

"Supper!" Chrono shook his head as Rosette bulldozed her way through the tray of food, watching her, leaning it head on the chair.

"Tired?" Rosette said, gulping down the rest of her soup.

"Not particularly." he closed his eyes partway, watching the groups of people, their auras like so many little galaxies, separate and combine as people paired off in groups then shifted again, the lights flickering. Some of the auras melded together, like Az's and Jake's as they danced in the middle of the living room, bouncing and swaying, perfectly in time to each other. Others, like the two Satella's repelled each other with such a force, you'd think one was poison for the other, the colours constantly contrasting as they bickered over who took what from the buffet, who was theirs. Then there were other auras, the ones he found the most interesting because they were hard to read. Like Mr. Remington and Ms. Valentine. Their auras looped and darted around, looping around in a tight knot one minute before jolting apart the next. Some auras flickered when a certain person went by, fanning out in a plume of colour to grasp at each other as their humans passed, blissfully unaware of the questions the auras were posing.

How many of there small stars would form galaxies? What would appear when the nebula faded? He wondered, dropping his head back as emotions rushed into him. Sassafras. When had he 'opened' anyway? Watching the auras. Shoot, he cursed, shaking his head. He couldn't afford this now. Carefully, he made to stand, but Rosette grabbed his arm. Carrying the tray to the kitchen, they paused by the sink, cleaning the stacks of dirty dishes.

"This is worse than that day down at the Roll cafe when I had to go on dishes duty for scaring customers." Rosette grumbled, shoving her hair out of her face.

"You don't have to do this." Chrono pointed out. He handed her a yellow ribbon, then set the dishes he was washing in the sink, braiding her hair back. Like his, it was damp, dripping down her back in steaming droplets.

"Are you? Doing the dishes, I mean." She closed her eyes, letting his fingers pick the knots from her hair in lieu of a comb.

"Yes."

"Then you need company. You're not sulking out this party."

"Who said I'm sulking."

"You're dozing off anyway. Liven up."

"I'm tired, that's all. It's been a long day."

"No kidding." Rosette muttered, glancing up at him. He smiled back, warm, frazzled...but that was how he tended to look. "You look like a single father, you know."

"You mean the kind that blunders along, barely scraping by in a messy house with two kids until the movies heroine, the dashing princess, swoops in to save him?"

"Mmm, not quite. You need six kids to convey the picture, and I don't think the princess rescues him. She just messes up the house and causes trouble." Chrono laughed.

"Yeah, but the single dad's a mess all the time. All shy and mousy. A coward. Hiding all the time. I think the heroine breaks him out of the shell. Via a bonk on the head of course."

"You idiot!"

"You're the one saying I look like a father."

"You do."

"Thanks."

"It's in the best sense of the term. And I never said you looked like MY father."

"I never thought you did."

"Jerk off."

"You lay off." they glowered at each other for a few minutes, tossing insults and soap bubbles around in time to the music.

"They're a funny pair, aren't't they." Ms. Harvenhiet noted as she joined Sam in the kitchen doorway.

"Yeah..." Sammy sighed.

"So, Demidemon of Death. Long time no see. What have you been up to since you restored my life back in '99?"

"Tracking those two." Sam shrugged, nodding to the pair by the sink. "They make it damn hard too."

"What?"

"Finding them! Jeez, Rosette was locked up in that wretched house of hers- how the hell was I supposed to lead her to Chrono? I had to pose as a stupid DOG and then DIE just so she would go running outside. Sheesh."

"So you've been playing matchmaker?"

"We all have. Rules from the top."

"And now you're shortening his life."

"I'm following my orders." Sam corrected, moving aside and staring wistfully after Brad as he stomped by, talking to Roxanne.

"Which are?"

"Undisclosed to the general human public. Sorry Satella, I can't tell you."

"I appreciate your trust."

"It's a matter of rules. It's their destiny. Ooh! Someone's knocking on the door!" Sammy turned and skipped over, pulling it open. "Hello-oh! Mr. Superio-ack, I- uh Aion! Mr. Castov! What are you doing here?"

"Me?" Aion smiled as Chrono looked up. "I'm here to visit, of course. Isn't there a party?"

----------------------------------------End chapter 59-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Well, that's the first part of the party. Just who we needed to see, right? No? Oh darn, well, we'll have to see what happens next!


	60. The Sunshine

A/N: Good morning! Well, it's morning here, as I write this. I have no idea what time it is wherever you are or what time it will be when you read this, but then, I'm just speaking for myself! So, good morning! Welcome, my friends, to chapter 60 of New Time, New Place. I hope you like it.

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Chapter 60

_He smirked, seeing the shock on the ex-angel's face. Oh, this was fun, tormenting him. You see Time, he thought smugly. You can't escape me. Ever. Little demon, you are mine._

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"Aion." Chrono stood blank faced in the doorway. "Why- what are you doing- no, I won't bother asking." he shook himself, wiping his hands on the apron he'd donned again. "What do you want?"

"Why brother." Aion attempted to look hurt. "It's the beginning of December! It's coming to Christmas time. I came over to spend some holiday cheer with my brother, nieces and nephews."

"Sons and daughters." Chrono said flatly. Rosette came to stand beside him, blocking the silver haired monster in the door.

"Oh fine, fine! It's December, so I'll let you remain deluded for a little longer, dear little brother." Smiling broadly, Aion strode past the gawkers at the door and made for the kitchen, whistling.

"Hey!" Chrono snapped, storming after him, elbowing his way between Satella and Ms. Harvenhiet as they bickered, between Jacob and Azmaria as they dance/argued, between people and people and people. How many people had the others invited? It was more then their aura's now, it was emotions, sharp, stabbing at his mind, his heart. Happiness from Az, jealousy from Brad, curiosity from Tina, a confined, trapped feeling as he passed Shader, worry from Mr. Remington, anger from Kate. The urge to find a corner somewhere and hide, to block it all out was growing stronger, pulsing with the ache behind his eyes.

'What's the matter little brother. You seem a tad pale." Aion smirked, leaning against the counter.

"Aion. Get lost." Rosette snarled, shoving Chrono aside as she forced her way into the kitchen. This wasn't good.

"Ah, but Miss Rosette." Aion bowed. "You wound me. I've come-"

"Aion! What the hell are you doing here?" Heather strode into the kitchen, her eyes flitting from Aion to Chrono, whose face had paled to the colour of parchment. "Well?" She placed herself between the two brothers as the music from the living room pounded louder, louder.

"Heather! Why my dear, you're looking wonderful. But I really do need to talk to my brother. And Miss Rosette, of course. Now Rosette, I received a letter from your father, and he asked me to give you this." Rosette blinked as a ticket was set into her hands, the smooth paper burning like a curse. "That's your ticket for returning home on Christmas holidays. You're father sends his regards." Aion waved to Ms. Harvenhiet, who scowled at him as she passed, ignoring them.

"Returning home?" Rosette glanced at the ticket. It was for a plane to Mikolin on December 22, the last day of school. "And if I don't want to?" Aion shrugged, popping a grape in his mouth and chewing slowly.

"Oh, I don't know what he plans to do if you don't arrive home on time. But then, Miss Rosette, you might want to remember the little deal I made with your father. You'll be returning after Christmas holidays for the play, then you'll return home."

"And what if I don't return home? What if I don't want to-" Chrono's fingers curled around her arm, both to halt her and to stabilize his own shaking legs.

"We get the idea, Aion. Now would you leave." His eyes…when she looked, they'd grown cloudy, like something was blocking the light from within. Aion raised an eyebrow, tapping a finger to his cheek.

"Ah, Chrono, but I'm not finished yet! Now, as for the kids, well, I figured you could use a Christmas alone, so on December 23, their mothers are coming to pick them up for a quick holiday get together. Aren't I wonderful?" Chrono stiffened, his eyes darkening.

"You- you- _what?" _he took a small step back, a frown tightening his features as he struggled to figure out what the blurry figure in front of him was saying.

"You know Chrono, I knew you weren't the party type, but you really do look quite ill. Maybe you should quit that new job of yours. The fumes might have done something to you, you never know what that sort of place will do to your mind. But then," Aion wandered into the living room. "You always were a little odd in the head. Ah! Sam! What are you doing here, m'dear?" The man continued talking with guests, wandering from room to room.

"Chrono?" Rosette glanced up at him, but his face remained averted. "Are you going to kick him out?" Chrono snorted, stumbling over to the counter.

"With this many people around? There's no way I'd get him out of here." he rubbed his temples, looking very, very tired.

Whack.

"You still should've stood up to him." Rosette grumbled, catching his arm. "Come on. What, are you drunk?"

"Just dizzy. Something happened. My…aura's open…" he shook his head again, his knuckles whitening in his grip on a chair.

"Open? Why did you-" His knees buckled, rushing with urgent message to the tiles of the kitchen floor.

"I didn't." She caught his arm and towed him up the stairs.

"Come on then."

"Rosette?"

"You've got to lie down for a bit. The others can handle the party for awhile." she pushed open the door to her room, shoving him in. "I'm sure," she added as he lurched to his feet, "that they can even handle Aion. None of them-"

"YOU BASTARD! WHAT ARE YOU OF ALL PEOPLE DOING HERE?!?" Rosette groaned as Ms. Valentine's voice rattled the full house.

"You were saying?" Chrono noted wryly, heading for the door.

Whack.

"Jerk. Come on then. But then you have to lie down." she growled, waving her fist as she bitched about his stupidity. Yet, even as she complained, her eyes followed his hand, creeping along the chipped green walls, trailed to his face, pinched and pale, needled the growing shadows under his eyes, the ones that seemed to grow darker and darker by the day. The one's that did grow darker by the day as his eyes dulled, slowly, slowly, gold and red turning to bronze and chestnut, then to muddy browns before turning to filthy grey. Dead grey on a pale, blued to dead grey face, with-

"Rosette." His voice, the rain, drew her back to flower. "Don't worry." He smiled, poking her cheek playfully and joking when he stumbled slightly. "I'm not dead."

"I know that!" She harrumphed as they were flung into the teeming madness of the party. "I...know..." she trailed off as he shouldered between people, his back to her.

"Hey! Rosette!" Roy grinned, dancing over. "You going to have a go? You look awfully down for a party girl!" Rosette groaned, storming towards the kitchen, glaring behind her as Roy followed her onto the back porch. "Whoo!" he whistled, looking up at the stars, faded through the city lights but still visible.

"Look, Roy, I'm glad you came to the party," Rosette said softly, "BUT WILL YOU LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!"

Whack. "Yow!" he shuddered, clutching his wounded head. "The hell was THAT for woman?"

"For not leaving me alone when I wanted to be!"

'"Like hell you wanted to be alone! You and Chrono have spent the entire evening together, and the only reason you're not together now is because he's trying to kick that brother of his out." he snapped, showing snow off the railing and sitting on it, his breath fogging up the air. She scowled.

"I don't care, right now, why you're here Roy, but I want to be alone."

"With Chrono?"

"Look, go away." she glared down at the snow-sheathed yard, watching the lights of the basement window, reflected in the glittering fluff.

"Sam told me he was dieing." At her sides, her fingers curled, the nails chewing at her palm.

"I don't like to think about that…" she let a handful of snow sift through her fingers, watching the flakes drift lazily through the river of stars, embraced by the wind.

"You know, you're acting weird."

"I AM NOT!" Bopwhacksmackpow.

"Roy? You alright?" Nancy asked, sidling onto the porch. "Hey. Rosette. Leave my boyfriend alone." she handed Roy a hot chocolate and leaned against him, frowning as the wind fiddled with her cemented hair. Rosette blinked, turning her back so she could stare at- well, at anything else.

"Hey Roy, did you hear 'bout D'Crusa? How he's-"

Why did everyone bring that up! Her eyes blurred and she lurched towards the steps, skidding down them into the snowy sea of the yard, her eyes burning, burning, burning as she forced her eyes skyward.

He wasn't dead yet, he wasn't.

He was inside, chasing Aion out. (She tried to picture him with a broomstick, shooing Aion out like a stray cat, just to laugh.) Why was she acting like this? Why? She never got this down, not over anything! Her legs trembled and she plunked herself down onto the bottom step, ignoring the cold seeping through her jeans. Why did everyone harp on the fact he- Chrono- was going to disappear, leave them…forever? Why was SHE harping on it, for that matter?

A rock seemed to have lodged itself in her throat, digging its claws in and sending its hot, searing breath to her eyes. Gulping, she wrapped her arms around her middle. She would NOT cry. She would be strong. She promised to be strong.

Thwap! She jumped, a snowball smashing into the fence next to her.

"Ya know, if you cry in the snow, your tears will freeze on your face, right?"

"Aunt Rosette!" Nina rushed over, a blanket wrapped around her. "You crying!" the child stopped her eyes huge.

"What? I most certainly am not!"

"Yes you were! I saw you!" Kino jeered, dancing from side to side in the snow. "Ha-haha-haha-haaa!"

"Shut up you brat!" she made a dive for Kino, but missed, landing head first in a snow drift.

"Missed me! Missed me! Now you gots to kiss me!"

"Gah! No way!"

"But that's the- atchoo -rules!" Kino whined, puckering his lips.

Whack. Rosette smirked, her snowball hitting him dead in the face.

"Kiss that, snow face!"

"Waaaaaah!" Kino sat down and promptly began bawling his eyes out.

"Oy! Kino!" Kye rolled his eyes. "Kino! Alright, you asked for it!" Kye pounced on his little bother, wrestling him in the snow, the younger child's tears vanishing. "Haha!" Kye crowed, triumph in his eyes as he stood. "Got ya pip squea-" Marie's snowboulder hit him from the porch. She grinned, sticking out her tongue.

"Whoops."

"Why you!" Rosette laughed, watching the siblings chase each other through the drifts, burrowing into some, just flopping into others. Slowly, she waded through the ard so she was standing in the shelter of the porch, her back to the wall.

Rat tap tap! The kids looked up, waving to Chrono as he tapped on the window, coming out.

"Hey guys. It's getting late. You should come back in now."

"Awww! Uncle Chrono!" they moaned, skulking in, pouts plastered over their frost bitten faces.

"Yeah yeah, I know, but it's late, alright," they trooped into their rooms, shrugging their winter clothes off in a wet, drippy pile on the floor. Shaking his head, Chrono scooped up the clothes, stuffing them in the drier and grabbing a mop to clean up the puddle on the basement floor.

"Did you manage to chase Aion out?"

"Nope. Ms. Valentine whacked him a good one and then threw him out the window. Luckily Shader had been drunk and had it open anyway, so it didn't break." he wrung out the mop, leaning it against the wall and clearing away the shredded pizza box from the low coffee table.

"Uncle Chrono!" Ben and Nina ran into the room, squealing, Kye and Marie chasing them from the bathroom, half empty toothpaste tubes clenched in their tiny fists. "Uncle Chrono!" Chrono caught the two children up, reliving them of the tubes (which he handed to the two disgruntled older children) and plunking the two younger children giggling on the couch.

"Come on guys," he warned gently. "It's time for bed!"

"Awww! But it's not fair! All the others get to stay up late!" Ben whimpered, making puppy eyes at the two teenagers.

"Who told you that? It's late, bed time for ALL of you."

"What!" Kye's head poked around the doorway, shock written on it. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope."

"But-"

"OH SHUT UP AND GET TO BED ALREADY!!!" Rosette bellowed, sending the children scattering. Chrono groaned as she chased them around, dropping onto the piano stool. Why, why, WHY was it always the days when he was so tired…

"Uncle!" he opened his eyes as Nina tugged hopefully at his pant leg. "Play me a lullaby! Too noisy to sleep!" she sniffled. She was right. It was noisy, with the music pounding through the cracks in the floor along with the insistent stomp of heavy shoed feet…

"Yeah, I'll play you a lullaby, then, you can sleep in my room. It's under Heather's room, so it should be quiet there." he lifted the lid on the piano keys, trying to think of which to play.

"Uncle Chrono!" Nina tugged at his leg again.

"Yes?"

"Where will you sleep?"

"In Aunt Rosette's room, of course," Kye crowed, dragging Ben into the room and leaping onto the couch. Grinning as Chrono turned pink.

"No, I don't think that's what I had in mind."

"Ooh! What are you playing!" Tawny flounced in plunking down as his fingers wandered lightly over the keys, plinking out the tune of 'there is a place I dream of'. Rosette stepped aside as Marie crept around the door jam, slipping up to her uncle's elbow and watching him, her lips whispering the words of the song as he played.

"_There is a place…I dream of…_

_It lies within my memory…_

_There is a place…I dream of…_

_A place that's only known to me…"_ One by one, Kye, Kino, Tawny, Ben and Nina joined Marie, their voices shy and unsure, faltering, following Chrono's fingers and Marie's growing voice. Rosette swallowed as Chrono smiled warmly at his little family, inching closer, ever closer to him as the song continued.

_"There is a place… I dream of…  
I've gone so many times it seems_

_It is a lonely place…. to go to…_

_I visit only in my dreams…"_ She…she wanted to be there, with them. Rosette blinked, her eyes wanting to fill in again as she watched them. Upstairs, teenagers bounced and cursed to their 'music', outside, cars raced to go here, or there, or anywhere else, their horns splitting the night, loud and less co-ordinated than geese, but here…

Here was another world, a tiny one, small and unto itself, seven colours of the rainbow, all glowing in harmony.

So what was she? There were no colours left!

Chrono turned his head, shifting over on the bench, making a place for her. Slowly, she slipped into the room, unable to look at the kids as she sat, unsure.

Why? She was Rosette! Why was she so-

Thump! A pair or chubby arms latched around her waist.

"Aunt Rosette!" Nina cheered, clambering onto her lap before continuing her song with the others in the rainbow, joining the droplets arching across the sky until the last chords splashed into their ears, soft, glowing, calling to fresh sunrises to swallow the darkness of night.

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"Are they all in bed?" Rosette stood as Chrono came in, rubbing his face.

"Yeah, though I doubt they'll sleep for awhile." he shrugged. "You can go back up to the party, if you like. I think I'll-" he sank onto the couch, curling his legs under him. "call it quits for the night." he yawned blearily, his eyes drooping shut.

"You look exhausted." carefully, she turned off the lights, dropping with a bounce and protesting creak onto the other end of the couch. "But you enjoyed the lullaby."

"I did enjoy it. But I felt bad- you kept standing off to the side." he shifted as she put her feet on his lap, turning to face her through the darkness.

"Urg! This is too uncomfortable!" Rosette grumbled, wriggling back. It was cool down here too.

"There's a blanket at your end, Rosette."

"Do- do-" she found herself yawning, so she pulled out the blanket and tossed one end to him. "Do you sleep here often?"

"It's not too bad. A little cramped for two, but manageable. He sighed, then laughed, softly. "Kino said, before he went to bed 'That was fun! But is still would've been better with your guitar'."

"He's still upset over you selling it?"

"Of course." he's knees brushed hers, bent like springs to give her room.

"Are you still upset?"

"About my dream? Sure, but then…to some extent, I've lived part of the 'dream'." she waited, hearing his soft intake. "Rosette, I'm- I'm not scared to die- well, ok, maybe I am, a bit, but…not- not totally. Heh, I even managed to raise a family." he fell silent for a minute. "On the other hand, I'm by no means ready to give up. I don't care what Sam says."

"You- what-"

"Rosette, I'm not going to worry about this, and I don't want you to either." her heart shivered. What was he- "I think- I think we're lucky…" he mumbled, eyes drifting shut, the night settling on the glowing sunset. "You're the sunshine, Rosette. The one… who turns rain…to…magic…" he sighed, sleep draping it's cloak over him.

For awhile, she watched him sleep. Then, she smiled, leaning her head on the armrest.

"Sunshine hmm?" she whispered, smiling.

Even the sun needs a reason to shine.

---------------------------------End chapter 60---------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Sooooorrrrrryyyy! I'm in fluff mode at the moment. Forgive me! Ah well, don't like, don't read, so I'll say THANK YOU to everyone who's been reading this silly kitty's story! (I have a Christmas chapter, but I don't know if I can get it done in time! Forgive me if I don't!


	61. Shopping

a/n: hello guys. This is one of those interesting days when I write during school. Today is a 'fun' day at school, which means that I'm now in the library listening to other people doing this French interviews. I posted chapter 60 yesterday, but that's no reason to slow down. I'm sorry to say that I won't have the Christmas episode done in time for Christmas, so forgive me for that, but there isn't anything I can do that wouldn't hurt the quality of the story. Sorry! But, however, there will be a Christmas episode- shoot! I keep going to write in French! Never write a story in English while listening to French- you get mixed up. Go figure. Either this chapter or the next one, I plan to include a 'preview' of Bridges, the search for the hundred coins. I hope you guys like it, but if you don't that's ok. It's an original story based on my comic. It follows the adventures of a young woman, Kris and her companions! (Yasaru, Cam, Marin, Kirin and Singer.) But! You people aren't interested in my comic at the moment! You want to know what's going to happen in...NEW TIME NEW PLACE!! (Dundundunnnnnn) Sorry. Feeling over dramatic here...lalala...

McB: Sneko! Shut up and write would'ja!

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Chapter 61- hurrah!

"Grey?"

"Uhhuh?" He turned, watching Golden stare out the window.

"Do you remember the time you saw the runes on Time's- Chrono's- back? What did they say? Were they marks of Fate?"

"I didn't write them."

"But there's more fate's than you."

"True. Yes, I suppose they were marks of fate. They were strange, if they were, because they weren't written in simply angelic runes. It was mixed with the curse Superior put on them and..."

"And?" Golden turned now, meeting his eyes, her face creased, concerned. "And...I supposed you could call it a prophecy...maybe. I don't know. It was strange, like the words scrawled on top came from inside."

"Inside?"

"I said they were weird. They looked like someone scoured them from the inside out."

"Ow."

"Not literally! Anyway, they-":

"They...?"

"They said 'chain breaker'."

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"Mmm...cookies..."

"Nnnn... Dun wanna wake up..." Rosette blinked, a small stream of sunlight nipping at her eyes from around the hulking weight on her chest…that was mumbling about gorillas…

"Ben?" the child moaned sleepily, rolling over on top of Marie, who shoved him off as Nina tumbled onto her head. "What-" It took her a moment to remember last night, when she'd fallen asleep on the now ominously creaking couch. "Uh…Chrono?"

"Mmhmm?" his response was muffled by the six wiggling, giggling, bickering bodies that had migrated onto the couch during the night.

"Chrono, I can't breathe." There was some sort of movement at the other end of the couch, although what it was she couldn't really tell, but then the kids tumbled from the couch into a complaining pile. Chrono waved at them from the couch.

"Good morning." Ten minutes later, they were seated at the kitchen table, eating breakfast.

"Alright guy," Chrono announced, carrying the dishes to the sink. "You'll be going to Aunt Shader's today."

"Shader's?!"

'But Uncle Chrono, Kye and I can look after things!"

"Whhhhyyyyyy!!!"

"Because." Chrono said firmly. "I have work today, as does Rosette."

"Aaaawwwwww." the kids pouted, and continued pouting until Shader's station wagon bounced into the driveway, freshly painted and shiny.

"Aunt Shader! Aunt Shader!"

"Do those brats have mood swings or what?" Rosette muttered, yanking on her coat. "Anyway. You got a new job?"

"Yes." Chrono smiled. "So it looks like we should be heading out. Your shift starts soon."

"Crap!" Rosette swore, sprinting for the door. "Chrono Why didn't you wake me up!" Whap! Chrono winced, stuffing his feet into his sneakers and pelting after her. "Rosette!"

"What!" He caught up, looping his arm through hers.

"A) you forgot your mittens on the counter, and b) you forgot me."

"But you have work."

"I'm working downtown. At Lydia's. Next to Prologue." She glanced at him, noticing how his cheeks had reddened in the wind.

"Are you stalking me? You always seem to be nearby."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Nope. Oh darn." He laughed, dodging the puddle.

"Did you get wet?"

"Nah."

"Are you going to go with me today? Christmas shopping that is."

"After a day of serving customers?! Are you nuts!" Rosette snapped, shoving him. "Of course I am!" He smiled, glancing up at the lights of the hotel. She smiled, noticing his gaze. "Do they do that every year?"

"Yup. Whoops! Light changed. C'mon." Dodging the growing number of people, they scurried towards Chickensum (lol) street, pausing only when they reached the roll café.

"Well, I guess I'll see you after work then, right?"

"Yup." they hesitated for a moment, waiting, until Laura yelled for Rosette to hurry up and a woman waved furiously from the from stoop of Lydia's.

"Coming!" Rosette turned to Chrono, smacking into him as he did the same.

"Ah- see you later!" he kissed her quickly before shooting across the street, yelling apologies to the glowering woman.

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"So what exactly are we shopping for again?" Rosette caught Chrono's hand as they hopped from the bus into the sea of people at the Tagalong mall. Chrono smiled, leading her around the worst of the impatient parents, screaming, sniffling kids, cranky teenagers and crooked bus drivers.

"What are we shopping for? Well, what time of year is it?"

"Winter? Oh! Christmas gifts for the kids, right?" she grinned, tapping his forehead and he nodded, heading for the embankment that separated the mall's parking lot from the parking lots of the strip mall up above.

"You got it." Rosette craned her head, peering up at the mountain of snow that had been ploughed up from the icy parking lot.

"And…we're going to get up there how?"

"Here." he clambered over to where a chain link fence separated the cars from a river and inched his way up a well beaten path in the snow. "You could walk back to the road from the bus stop, but it takes longer, so I just come up this way."

"My, I never thought of you as impatient!" Rosette teased, scooting around him so she was above him.

"Rosette, watch the drop off!" he pointed behind her to where the fence ended, leaving a three metre strait drop onto the rocks of the river. Paling, she darted the rest of the way up the embankment and stood back until he had made it up to the top.

"Have fun?"

"Jerk!" Whack. She growled, yanking on his braid. "Come on, where are we going now? It's getting dark."

"Up ahead, first building, Games 4 You. I'm trying to find gifts for the kids."

"I don't see how that's going to be a challenge, Chrono. They're kids."

"Indeed they are. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of money. Not to spread between six kids. So I have to find things I know they'll like and that I can conceivably pay for." He walked under a streetlight, raising a hand to catch one of the glimmering flecks it reflected.

"Ok…so you're working with a budget. I can handle that." they went in, blinking as they went from darkness to fluorescent in the groaning of a sliding door, meeting with the most dangerous thing you can ever face before Christmas.

Christmas shopping in a toy store. Chrono groaned.

"Sorry 'bout this Rosette. I-"

"No apologies. What's our price range?" they dodged around an avalanche of bionicals, set off by a howling six year old who was ignoring the pleas of her frazzled parents. Rosette rolled her eyes. "I'm glad Nina and them aren't like that."

"Me too. Right, we have about twenty dollars a child. Actually," he pulled out a piece of paper. "Twenty two per child. I've got a hundred-fifty to spend."

"Chrono, you know you aren't going to be able to get _anything_ for that much!" she sputtered, walking into a cursing father, arguing in a low tone with his wife.

"I- I know." Chrono bit his lip and Rosette winced. It was the best he could do, considering he still hadn't bought himself a winter coat. He looked at a display, his aura shrinking down to a mere glimmer.

Whack!

"Come on you dork!" Rosette growled, dragging him down the aisle by the hair, knocking over boxes of dolls and legos and sending them dancing away between the legs of panicking parents. "It's not how much the gift costs, it's the heart behind it, now get over it! Raaar! Outta my way! I have gifties to find!!"

"Sorry! Sorry! Oh, ma'am, excuse me- er and her- Rosette! Ack! Sorry! Rosette!!" Chrono handed a woman the packages Rosette had knocked from her arms and apologized to a short man who was blowing his moustache in a most annoyed manner.

"Young man," he hissed, his face slowly turning a rather frightening shade of purple.

"I'm very sorry sir!" Chrono squeaked, panic in his voice as the man's face grew to a darker purple, eyes vanishing in the folds of his face.

"DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO CONTROL YOUR WOMEN?" the man roared, waving his cane over Chrono as the teen scooted back, cowering from the pointed head of the cane as it whooshed alarmingly close to his nose. "IF IT HAD BEEN ME, I WOULD'VE TAUGHT THAT WOMAN HOW TO BEHAVE! YOU MEN OF THIS GENERATION HAVE NO GUTS!"

"Y-yes sir, sorry sir!" Chrono nodded quickly, the cane swishing closer.

"AND YOUR HAIR BOY! WHAT POSSESSES YOU BOYS OF NOW TO DYE YOUR HAIR THOSE ATROCIOUS COLOURS? WHEN I WAS A LAD, THERE WASN'T ENOUGH MONEY FOR FOOD, LET ALONE COLOURING OUR HAIR! I HAD FOUR OTHER SIBLINGS, AND I HAD TO FIND FOR ALL OF THEM! NO SOCIAL SERVICE CHECKS FOR ME, NO SIR! THEY WEREN'T INVENTED! BUT YOU LOT! UNGRATEFUL LITTLE HOOLIGANS! LITTLE SNOTS WHO HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT'S LIKE TO WORK FOR HOURS AT A TIME AND STILL BE SCRAPPING FOR MONEY!"

"Sir, please calm down!" Chrono glanced around, his face pink, but the man didn't stop. "Sir, you're going to hurt yourself!"

"CALM DOWN? YOU LITTLE SNOTTY BRAT! I'M A HELPING YOU OUT! I BE TEACHING YOU THE WAY OF MEN! NOT THE SLIPPERY LITTLE WAYS OF YOU MODERN, LAZY, UNCONTROLLED YOUTH!"

"He givin' you a problem?" a clerk asked, leaning on the shelves to watch, cracking his gum. Chrono raised an eyebrow. The guy tossed his hair (blue) from his eyes. "Right then. Later." he waved and sashayed off.

"YOU LAZY LITTLE BRATS!" the man continued, his moustache quivering. "YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO WORK! HIM-" he pointed his cane at the clerk. "HE, AT LEAST, IS DOING AN HONEST DAY'S WORK! YOU- YOU'RE THE TYPE WHO SPENDS ALL HIS TIME WATCHING TELEVISION AND WAITS FOR HIS PARENTS TO BUY HIM OUT OF TROUBLE!"

"HEY!" Chrono looked up, past the muttering we're-not-looking crowd that had surround them as Rosette barreled through the people, grabbing the cane. "SHUT THE HELL UP GRAMPS! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HIM!"

"ME? I KNOW HE CAN'T LOOK AFTER A WOMAN!"

"I DON'T NEED LOOKING AFTER, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! AND HOW DARE YOU CALL HIM LAZY! HE'S RAISING SIX KIDS, AND RUNNING A BOARDING HOUSE! HE DOESN'T KNOW THE MEANING OF THE WORD, YOU- YOU OLD MAN!"

"PSHAW! LIES GIRL! IF HE CAN'T CONTROL YOU, THEN HE'S OBVIOUSLY FIBBING TO YOU!"

"YOU WISH! I LIVE THERE!"

"YOU PROBABLY HAVE TO DO THE WORK FOR THE BABY!"

"AS IF! WHY WOULD I DO THAT!"

"Ah- er Rosette-" Chrono tugged on her sleeve, but she shrugged him off.

"ALSO, GRAMPS, WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO GO HARPING ON RANDOM PEOPLE! I MEAN, COME ON! YOU MET HIM WHAT? TEN SECONDS AGO?"

"Rosette!"

"I TOLD YOU BEFORE, YOU CHILD! I'M TEACHING HIM HOW TO BE A MAN! NOW SILENCE WENCH!"

"DON'T YOU WENCH ME, YOU PERVERTED OLD FOOL!"

"**WILL YOU BOTH JUST STOP**!" Both the man and Rosette paused, turning, as did the crowd (and the clerks) all of whom were watching the argument with great interest. Chrono sighed. "Rosette, just- look, it's ok! And sir, I'm very sorry if I offended you in some manner, but I really don't try to be lazy, I'll do better from here on out."

"WORDS! WORDS ARE CHEAP BOY-"

"Yes sir, I know, but it's all I can give right now. Excuse us." Blushing furiously from his toes to his ears, he grabbed Rosette and tugged her away before she could go off again, flipping out again at the old man.

"Chrono! Chrono! You jerk! Lemme at him! No one insults my-"

"Rosette- oh sassafras and vinegar Rosette! It's fine! I don't mind getting told off!"

"But that was all co-"

"Rosette," Chrono turned and put a finger over her lips. "It's fine! Let's just get the shopping done." he squeezed her hand. "But thank you, for sticking up for me."

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"Well, that was a pointless exercise;" Rosette muttered, shoving her hair from her eyes. "We didn't find anything!" she dropped her head onto the counter at Third Mug, trying to ignore the Christmas music that chirped through the speakers.

"Here's your hot chocolate." A mug clacked to the table in front of her, the hot chocolate sluicing around the rim and washing her in its warm, homey smell as Chrono hopped onto the stool next to her. "It wasn't so bad, was it?"

Whap.

"Ok, ok, I get the picture. But you didn't have to scale the shelf to get the box off the top. You couldn't asked for help before the whole thing came down." he said cheerfully. "Oh! Or, you didn't have to get into a fight with that pregnant woman over the stuffed cat or-"

Whack.

"Feel better?" he asked, rubbing his head.

"Much. Idiot." she took a swig of her hot chocolate then laughed. "What about when you tried to catch all the stuff I knocked over-" she grinned. "and then that kid stared to chase you around.- Waah! Waah! Moky! Moky!- and you had no idea he was after the stuffed monkey that had landed on your head!"

"Yeah, then his older brother was ready to pound me for making the kid cry." Chrono shook his head. "Well, you certainly make an interesting shopping partner."

"That better be a compliment, bub." Rosette mock-growled, shaking her fist at him. "What'd you buy anyway?"

"I'm not finished yet, I have a few left to get for the kids- the toys were so expensive there!- but I figured we could look around here for a little while."

"Sounds good. Let's go." she towed him down the stairs outside the little café, towards the escalator.

"Wait!" Chrono pointed to Jane's, the bookstore next to Third Mug. "I bet I could find something for Ben there."

"A book? Aw c'mon Chrono! What kinda kid wants books for Christmas."

"It must be here somewhere…" Chrono peered at a shelf, running his finger over the titles. "He asked for this book, and I really want to find it for him…"

"Who? You're boyfriend, D'Crusa?" Rosette turned as Billy came from between the shelves.

"Billy? You idiot. What're you doing here?"

"What're you doing with D'Crusa?"

"Shopping. Now get lost."

"And if I say no?" Billy swooped in closer, backing her to the shelves.

"Then you better get the hell away from me!" (Whack) the hulking teen scuttled away, clutching his head.

"Aha! Found it!" Chrono snagged a book from the shelf and waved to Billy.

"Hey Billy. Having fun?" Their only response was a glower.

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"Hey! Chrono! Wait up a minute, will you? I have to go to the bathroom!" Chrono nodded, waving absently, looking at something in a store window. Rosette paused for a minute, then forced her way through the river of people to the bathroom, sighing with relief as she stepped in front of the smudged and scribbled mirror. She frowned at her reflection, scrubbing at her red-cheeked face. Her hair was a mess, sticking out in a static mass of gold. Well, there wasn't much she could do- as usual, she hadn't brought a comb. Shrugging, she shouldered her bag and shouldered back out into the main hall, looking around the teeming, screaming stores for Chrono. It wasn't hard to find him, his aura bright amongst the faded glimmers of the others- others? She rubbed her eyes as she spotted the shining, brooding clouds of colour that, despite sticking close to their humans, she could see. Shivering, her stomach suddenly cold, she scurried to where she'd left Chrono, linking hands with him, feeling as if he was growing further away.

"I'm right here, Rosette." his fingers warmed hers, and he smiled.

Whack.

"What's with you today? Oh! What'cha looking at?" she turned, but Chrono pulled he past the music store window, giving her just a glimpse of a guitar before they ducked into the next store. Frowning, Rosette let him lead her, glancing back at the receding store behind them, lost behind the growing auras.

It was just one of those days, wasn't it?

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A/N: hi! Well, the bridges preview will have to wait, I'm afraid. Forgive me! But this is long over due and I'm trying to get it up before tomorrow- cuz otherwise it'll wait till boxing day. MERRY CHRISTMAS!


	62. A Bit of Random Insanity

a/n: Good morning people and Merry Christmas! (Ok, Boxing Day, whatever) I hope you all had a good one! (I did! Books books books!) Well, off we go to another chapter of NTNP! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono, Rosette and the others. Just NTNP. But then, that's enough for me!

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"What do you mean, "Chain Breaker? Is that good or bad?" Golden frowned, tossing a rock out the window. (How there were rocks in heaven, Grey didn't know. Then again, how was there electricity in heaven, or long, dark nights full of fluffy, howling dogs on heaven?)

"Well," Grey shook himself, stretching his cramped wings. "It means, really, a reference to the chains of fate."

"He can break chains of Fate?" Golden frowned, but he nodded.

"He did, for all man kind, by allowing human souls into heaven, remember?"

"Yeah, and then he got sent to hell."

"But not forever. Golden-"

"Yes Golden," they jumped as Superior came to the doorway, a smile twisting his lips. "You realize what this means Golden." the door clanged shut behind him, the heavy bolt drawn across with a screech. "Of course she knows what it means, Grey, dearest." the Second Angel leaned against the door, his arms folded over his black robes. "He means, little Golden, that your beloved human-demon Chrono will be returning to heaven. Superior smirked, rolling his dagger around in his fingers. "Unless," he crooned. "someone stops him." Golden snorted.

"And why, pray tell, Superior, would someone want to do that?"

She gasped as the air vanished from her lungs.

"Golden!" Grey called her name in surprise as Genai's reeking arms swooped around her, holding her against his sweating, black-aura shrouded body.

"What-" the aura was thick, black, choking, filling in her nose, her mouth, as clouds of the smoky, demonic blackness billowed from the corners, clinging to her wings, her hair.

"So Grey," Superior smirked again, noting the horror on the younger angel's face. "Will you stop Chrono's return or…" Golden screamed from within the cloud. "The choice, my friend, is yours."

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"Here you are! Try some perfume!"

"Here, here, try some-"

"MAN, I HATE THIS STORE!" Whack. "Chrono! Do we have to come in here?" Rosette growled, stomping past the sample ladies who'd been plaguing her for the past hour. "I hate Shears!"

"Ok, ok, I get the picture. I don't like it either." They retreated from onslaught of cosmetics and scurried out into the cool, moist night.

"So. We still haven't had any luck with presents."

"I know." Chrono leaned on a post, staring up at the sky, hands in his pockets. "I'm sorr-" Whap.

"I told you before! Don't apologise for everything, you twit! You're doing your best, and that's all you can do. We had fun, didn't we?" he nodded, taking her hand.

"We'd better head back. Shader'll be getting worried."

"You think?" she glanced at her watch. Eight. "I guess you're right. An hour's bus ride?"

"There about. Arg! There it is! C'mon!"

"Y'know," she grumbled, dropping into the seat beside him. "We really have to get out of the habit of being so late for the bus whenever we take them."  
"Remind me of that next time we go through the candy aisle." Whack.

"Jerk!"

"Violent."

"Idiot."

"Maniac girl."

"Dork."

"Rosette."

"O-h no. You're not pulling THAT one again! I-"

"Thank you." she stopped, mid-sentence, meeting the soft crinkle in his eyes. She closed her mouth, swallowing.

"You're- you're welcome." she squeaked, then she whacked him again for surprising her like that.

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"Hello? Guys?" Chrono opened the door, looking in. "Anyone home?"

"Fred! Come back!"

"His name's not Fred! It's King!"

"No it's not! It's Froufrou!"

"Is not! It's Mila!"

"Should I ask what's going on?" Rosette asked, shutting the door behind her as there was a loud scrabbling from the kitchen.

"Aggie, no!"

"No, you shouldn't ask." Chrono warned, heading for the noisy kitchen. "However, we're about to find out." Grimacing, he opened the door to the kitchen. "I'm home."

"Gah!" Kino leapt up.

"It wasn't my idea!" Marie screeched, her face a brilliant red. "I wasn't going to let them-"

"Oh shut up Marie!" Kye grumbled, but his eyes flitted warily to Nina and Ben, then to Chrono and Rosette as they froze in the doorway at the sight of a very large, very furry black dog. Kye swallowed. "Ok," he croaked, "now you see-" Chrono stepped around him and knelt next to the dog.

"Her name Ella. She told me." Ben informed him. "She need a house."

"Does she." Chrono patter the huge black head. "And do you know what kind of dog Ella is?"

"Big?" Nina filled in hopefully. Chrono laughed weakly.

"Yeah, big. She's a Newf, isn't she Shader."

"Indeed she is!" Shader said cheerfully. "She does need a home, and I figured-" Chrono groaned, dropping his head to the huge, black, shaggy dog's side.

"She would be able to live here?"

"Yeah!" Shader grinned hopefully, not deflating an inch when she saw the look on his face. "She's real well behaved, great with kids, and-" Slurp. Chrono sat back, blinking, as the dog gave him a lick, her large tongue covering his entire face. _I'll be good! I'll be good!_ she pleaded, _I really will!_

"Ok, ok, fine!" he threw up his hands, heading for the basement. "You've got yourselves a dog. Wait. Where's Final Claw?"

"Mew!" the kitten poked her head out from behind the dog, her loud purrs rumbling through the kitchen.

"See!" Shader squealed, "Even the cat likes her!"

And that's how they ended up with Ella, the 200 pound Newfoundland dog.

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"Mmf! Mmf!" He rolled over, pulling the blanket over his head.

"Mmf! Mmf!" A cool nose poked at his face.

"Ella! G'way! It's three in the morning!"

"Mmf! Mmf!" for a moment, there was silence.

Slurp.

"Gah!" He sat up, hitting his head on the desk as Ella's tongue slurped across his cheeks. Shooting the dog a murderous look that he couldn't keep up, (How could you stay made at a nose, tongue and pair of huge brown eyes stuck on a giant black pompom anyway?) grabbed her lease and took her out for a morning walk.

Why did he always get the morning crowd?

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"Chrono. Good morning. Who's this?" he winced, ducking his head as he entered Lydia's.

"Ah! Mrs. Jackman! Well, I can explain, you see-"

"She's your charge's dog, and no one else it home, yes, I know. There's a bed set up for her in the back of the store." the woman, tall and thin with a dark, bony face long and wild black hair tossed Ella a bone. "You be good now lass." she warned, her eyes flashing.

"She will, Mrs-"

"Not the dog! Her!" she pointed back towards the door as Rosette slipped in, walking into a display of healing stones.

"Rosette!" he ran over, catching the box. "Aren't you-"

"Lunch break."

"Ah." he backed up, letting her move past into the dim, small store.

Rosette raised an eyebrow, peering around the musty store. Healing stones, rosaries, crystal balls, amulets against devils… all crammed into the dusty shelves with tarot cards and books.

"Nice place." she smiled at Mrs. Jackman, but the tall woman said nothing, her black eyes following her as she walked slowly around the store a second time, looking at the cursed mirror, the voodoo dolls and strange bottles of potions. Weird. She poked absently at a stuffed toad, shuddering at the rubbery feel to it's skin.

"You have an interesting history, girl."

"Excuse me?" Mrs. Jackman had come up behind her, silently, her eyes cool.

"You have an interesting history. And a full future."

"I don't care to know about the future." Rosette snapped, picking up a piece of quartz. What did the future matter anyway?

"You turn away too fast, Rosette Christov."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Your predecessor didn't give up because she was dieing."

"I'm not dieing."

"Your heart is. You give up too easily child."

"Whatever." She froze as the woman clasped her fingers around her hand.

"You will listen, Rosette. You too, like Chrono, have the second eye. It will help you, someday, if you would let it."

"Help me how? Once Chrono ceases to exist? Don't be stupid."

"Are you so certain of the future? He's not. His name, his true one, that name which is known to a rare few, is He Who Transcends Fate."

"Bull shit! Leave me alone!" He Who Transcends Fate? Rosette resisted the urge to snort. He was the one MOST held down by fate! The bell above the door rang as she stormed out, not even stopping to bid farewell to Chrono.

_You turn away too fast, Rosette Christov._

Bull.

_Your predecessor didn't give up because she was dieing._

Double bull.

_Your heart is._

"DAMMIT!" she sat down at Him Tortans, shutting her eyes. It wasn't fair! Screw fair, she made her own fairness…she gulped, staring at her soup.

"You look like you need company." Chrono set his drink on her table, sitting on the chair across from her.

"I want to be alone."

"To sulk or mope? Sorry sweetie, but you wouldn't let me get away with that and I won't let you. Remember what you told me when I was stupid and set on giving up music? Remember? Don't give up on yourself? Well," Chrono swallowed. "Don't give up on us. Rosette never gives up!" he looked pale. "Please…please don't give up so easily, ok? I know it seems hopeless, but that will make it all the better-"

"When we beat it." Whack. "Don't preach me my own lessons, jerk."

"Only if you don't talk up my faults."

"Deal." she shook his hand, grinning with the stupidity of it.

Even the sun needs a reason to shine.

He was hers.

So she would shine.

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	63. Partings: Christmas Without You

A/N: Hi guys! Sneko here! (McB is too!!) Well, yesterday I posted chapter 60...62! So that makes this chapter 63! Yah, I'm smart! (Laugh, laugh people! It's a joke!!) Anyway, I haven't looked at the reviews (are there any?) but I have a good idea of what they'll say- "Filler! It's a filler, stupid episode!" Yes, it was. Except we met Chrono's new boss…and ELLA! Yay! Ella! Grins Sorry. I had to put Ella in, because Abby, my Newfoundland dog, was whining at me…but I love my (big) puppy! Alright then, on to chapter 63! Happy dance!

Disclaimer: Hi! I'm Sneko, and this is McB! We don't own Chrono Crusade- we can barely spell it! So, off you go and enjoy the fanfic- that's why I write it…besides the fact that writing is fun!

Chapter 63

"Man, Rosette, I can't believe you and Chrono didn't go to the Christmas dance!" Rosette glanced up at the ceiling, slamming her suitcase shut, the phone tucked under her ear as Claire prattled on. "I mean, like, you would've loved it! Ok, they didn't actually play Christmas, music- only one song- but like, it was so fun, you know? Tina and I went, and Roy took that Roxanne girl from the café- did you HEAR? Nancy DUMPED him, the bitch, but then, I think that it was actually him dumping her, because she was spreading nasty rumours about you and Chrono. So why didn't you go? Even Az and Jake, Satella and Viede-"

"I KNOW THEY ALL WENT STUPID! WE LIVE IN THE SAME HOUSE!" She flopped back onto the bed, the thump vibrating through the walls.

"Ooh! Good point! So why didn't you go?"

"Chrono had to stay with the kids."

"And you stayed with him! That's so cute! Hey Tina" Rosette glanced at the phone and considered hanging up. She wanted to. She wanted to hang up the phone, then turn off the ringer, put all her clothes back in her closet, close her door and scurry into the basement to curl up on the couch. Or sleep on the sleeping bag so she could wake up, with Chrono's back to hers, the kids, Ella and Final Claw piled up on them and the alarm screaming, telling them it was 5:00 am, time to get up.

"Rosie? Rosette? Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here Claire." She said softly. She didn't have the energy to yell right now, as she lay on the bed, staring up at the now bare ceiling.

"Anyway, Tina was wearing this adorable dress that matched the new colours in her hair- she added purple streaks, and gold to the green. Oh! She was so gorgeous! And Roy…mmm. If I weren't…"

"Look, Claire, I- I have to go. I've got to keep packing."

"Oh! Right! Wait. Why didn't you pack last night? Oh! I bet that was why you stayed back- you're leaving today, aren't you? Rosette?"

"See you for the play, Claire."

Click.

Rosette straitened, looking around the room.

She was leaving.

Today.

"Rosette?" Chrono poked his head around the door. She tried to smile, but she could only match his grim attempt as he came in, shutting the door. "The kids are packed." she nodded, gesturing at her suitcase.

"Me too." she whispered.

"Hey now, none of that." he did smile then, forced, but better than his last attempt, and tapped her on the nose. "Come on now, Rosette. You'll be back after Christmas, before you know it. Then you can mess up the house as much as you want!" He dropped an arm around her shoulders, uncharacteristically jovial. She turned her face, pressing it to his side.

"What will you do over Christmas?"

"Me? Sleep, I guess. Work. Why?"

Whap.

"You know damn well why!" she snarled, brandishing her suitcase. Chrono laughed.

"Rosette, you're going home, to your family. ENJOY it."

"How can I enjoy it?!?" she growled, kicking the door. "How can I? Knowing that you're going to be here, alone? On CHRISTMAS!"

"Rosette, It won't be the first time! Relax!" she shoved him away as he tried to hug her.

"That just makes it WORSE!" Chrono sighed, heading down the stairs to where the kids were waiting sullen-faced around Shader's still feet.

"All ready to go!" she said brightly, scooping up Nina and Ben. "We are!"

"NO, we aren't!" Marie snapped, Kye nodding in agreement.

"That's right!"

"We don't wanna go!"

"Why d'we have to! Whhhhy!"

"Because your mothers want to see you." They stopped as Chrono knelt down, hugging them, one by one. "I get to see you every day, but your mothers almost never do. I think making six mommy's happy this Christmas is better then making one happy uncle and six sad mommy's, don't you?" The six slumped, nodding.

"Uncle Chrono? Won't you be lonely?" Tawny asked, petting Final Claw. Chrono smiled, patting her head.

"I'll be just fine. I have Ella don't I? C'mon guys, let's go." Slowly, they piled into Shader's station wagon, the abnormal silence stubbornly sticking, until even Chrono gave up trying to cheer people up, hugging Nina on his lap and staring out the window as the airport grew larger, larger, larger, a huge mass of snow covered buildings, glinting knives in the sun. Rosette swallowed, looking at him, trying to memorize every line, every angle, just as she had the night before, curled beside him on her bed, staring at his face as he did the same to her, tracing over every line, every angle; the slightly exotic slant of his eyes, the curve of his lips when he smiled, the slight angle of one tooth, his laugh. The way his hair fell over his shoulders when he bent over. The way it spread smoothly over the blankets when he slept. How cute he was when he snored, just softly. His large hands. The way he'd insisted on keeping their spirits up for the entire month with games, songs, silly dances. The way he danced her around in the snow last night, because they hadn't gone to the dance. The endless, hilarious games of crazy eights with the kids. The study sessions, where he'd bend over the books, trying to read her badly kept notes, then look up with ink on his nose, so she'd have to kiss him clean.

Why did she have to give him up?

"Here we are." Shader announced, her voice flat as she stooped to get out of the car, helping Ben out. "Chrono, if we don't hurry, we won't get the kids through on time."

"Right…" he took Nina and Ben by the hand, and slowly, they headed for the revolving doors of the glass airport.

"You know, this is the slowest we've ever ventured toward some transportation. Normally, we're so late we nearly miss it." Rosette noted as they went into the creepy door that turned through several people at once. Chrono chuckled.

"Yeah, but that's only because you always had to stop for food. Or you crashed the car. Or we had to go back for the tickets because we forgot."

"Or you were too slow carrying the luggage!"

"Hey now, come on! I was smaller than you! Those things were about MY size, and you made me carry ALL of them- unless it was the food of course."

WHACK!

"What was that D'Crusa?" They stepped up to the airline lady who organized who's bag was going where before sending them off to security.

"Urg. Stay close guys." Chrono warned, navigating the endless stream of people swarming from gift stores to coffee shops, all toting luggage, tags and grumpy, forced-to-travel faces.

"Uncle Chrono, I'm hungry." Kino whined, dragging on Marie. "Pleeeeaaaaassssseeee can we get something to eat?"

"Me too! I'm hungry too!" Tawny bounced up and down, yelping as she landed on someone's foot.

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Chrono blanched, turning as he heard the voice. "KIDS TODAY! DON'T YOU KNOW ANY RESPECT? WHY WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE-"

"Tawny!" he grabbed his niece.

"Ah, sir- I'm so- oh. Oh hello sir, I-"

"YOU AGAIN! YOU'RE THAT LITTLE LAZY-ABOUT FROM THE ZOO THE OTHER DAY! CAUSING MORE TROUBLE ARE YOU? YOU AND YOUR LITTLE HOOLIGANS!"

'Look, sir, I'm terribly sorry, but I can't stop for lessons today. I must get my niece to her flight!"

"NIECE SMIESE! WHEN I WAS YOUR AGE-"

"You again!" Rosette barked, grabbing Chrono by the collar and dragging him away from the man who had shifted into cane shaking mode, threatening to behead several innocent bystanders. "Will you leave my boyfriend alone until he has less things to worry about! Honestly! Of all the times."

"Uncle, you know him?"

"No. Just ran into him on a couple of occasions." Chrono swallowed as they reached security. Shader patted his arm. "Ok guys." he knelt down, hugging them, one little body by one. "This is as far as I go. You'll go through here, then a flight attendant will show you where to go. I made sure of it." Rosette chewed her lip, standing back as they said good-bye and one by one slipped into security, preparing for their flight.

'He's going to miss them something awful, he is." Shader said softly, scowling at a man as he forced between them.

"Where'd they go?" Rosette asked, noticing she'd lost sight of Chrono and Nina.

"Right here!" Nina waved, seated high atop Chrono's shoulders, floating above the crowd.

"Hey." Chrono finally made it over, leading them to a seat in the observation room, despite it being blocked with people.

"Ug! It's so busy." Shader complained, picking up Nina as Chrono paused to rest. Nina yawned. "Hey! I know! How about I take Nina over to Kate's? It's close enough to when she's supposed to be there. Then I could come back and pick you up!" the woman grinned, fixing her glasses. "Come on Nina!"

"Wait! Shader!" Chrono yelled, but her bouncy cropped blue hair vanished. "Sassafras."

"It is, isn't it." They were jammed rather uncomfortably against the window, just in time to see Kye's flight take off. Chrono waved, just slightly, although it would've been impossible for his nephew to see it.

"It's what?"

"Sassafras."

"And peppercorns." he agreed, his hand dropping to hers, squeezing it.

"My flight's not yet."

"Good." Another plane arched into the grey, brooding sky. Chrono forced the lump in his throat to go down, but it scurried back up alarmingly fast. Their fingers tightened at the same time, as the crowd pushed them closer again. "We better get out of this crowd, or you'll never make your flight."

"Gosh, wouldn't that be horrible." Rosette turned the idea around in her head, trying to think around the blaring rendition of "I'll be home for Christmas", the howling children, cursing parents, bickering couples, all of which were set aglow by light streaming through the huge glass walls and horrid florescent lighting that burned your eyes to glance at it.

"Hard to believe there's times when this place is next to deserted."

"I wish it was now. Geez, I want to go home!"

"Well, you are, right so-"

"NO! Not that home! You're home! My home! Here home! With you!"

"Rosette, this is your family we're talking about. It's not the end of the world. Heh, come on, your folks aren't that…well, you'll be coming back in time for the play, so-"

"So nothing!" they stopped by a wall near security and she hugged him, pressing her face into his chest. His arms tightened around her, shaking her insides.

"Rosette," she opened her eyes as he pressed his cheek to her hair. "I- Rosette, I don't want you to go. This is- this is harder then saying so-long to the kids. I don't want you to go. I don't want that at all. But you- well, you should try and keep things between your parents at least halfway manageable. Because it's hard."

"I know." but if she left…she squished the thought, but she felt his understanding, so she knew he'd 'heard' it. "I know."

"Don't worry. Hey, you know what Heather told me a couple weeks ago?"

"What."

"That you were doing a good job pretending to care about me."

"What! That- that- I'm not pretending! She asked me to, it's true but-"

"I know." he stepped back then, his hands on her shoulders, a smile on his face. "I know you wouldn't fake something like that, Rosette. On the other hand, should you do so, I'd know, but moreover…I trust you. And-"

_"Flight, 251 for Mikolin. All passengers report to security before boarding. Flight. 251 for Mikolin. Report to security."_

"Damn! That's my flight!" she couldn't go! She- she belonged _here_! Not back with her parents. She gulped and his hands tightened.

"I swear I'll be ok Rosette. I'll come and pick you up, I promise, ok?"

"I- you better, idiot!" WHAP. He rubbed his head, grinning.

"That's the Rosette I know." he kissed her, quickly, before the crowd forced her away towards security.

"Chrono!" Rosette craned her neck, trying to catch a glimpse of him, or even just the tail of his aura. "Chrono!"

"Your bag, ma'am?" she handed the woman her carry on, still trying desperately to get a glimpse, one last glimpse…

"There you are deary." Again, she was awash in the crowd, again, she could see nothing except bodies, before her, behind her, all around her.

But no Chrono.

Her heart clawed it's way to her mouth as the gate to the plane lurched up before her.

She'd never see him again if she went through.

"Your ticket, sir. Ma'am. Oh yes sir, have a good flight. Ticket please." the ticket left her hand and through she went, between the jaws, swallowed by the huge, flying beast.

"Please enjoy your flight." The attendant by the door muttered as she passed, thrown into her seat next to a moping kid with a screeching gameboy and a sniffling young woman with drippy mascara. Above her, on the plane's sound system, Dolly Parton wailed a rendition of "Christmas without you".

She just wished it wasn't so fitting.

_"Christmas without you  
White Christmas and I'm blue  
Like fireworks with no fuse  
Christmas without you "_

"You- sniff- goin' home for Christmas too?" the drippy girl asked, raising her head.

_"_Yeah." Rosette answered absently, dropping her head against the back of the seat.

_The fireplace keeps burning and my thoughts keep turning  
The pages of memories of time spent with you  
Old Christmas songs we knew and used to make love to  
Make it hard to get used to  
Christmas without you"_

_"_You seem -sniff- pretty down, you know. I mean, it's not like y-your b-boyfriend told you to get lost, is it?"

"No. I don't suppose it is." Out side, the airport flashed by as they taxied, then with a

b-thump they were flying, further, further away. She resisted the urge to scream "let me off!", or the more worrying one, to jump off the plane as St. John's faded into the distance to the continued howling of both singer and kids.

_"Christmas without you  
White Christmas and I'm blue  
I love you I miss you  
So sad but so true  
Christmas without you  
"Like a mystery with no clues  
Like fireworks with no fuse  
Christmas without you_

"The sweetest gift I know would be if the new snow  
Could fall on your footsteps on this Christmas Eve  
The most joyous Christmas if luck could be with us  
Would be if Saint Nicholas brought you home to me

"Christmas without you   
White Christmas and I'm blue  
I love you I miss you I need you  
So sad but so true  
Like a mystery with no clues  
Like fireworks with no fuse  
Christmas without you."

Rosette shut her eyes as the girl beside her -Bianca, she said her name was- blathered on about how rotten her boyfriend was, how she just had to get away from him, how she wished he would just die, and wouldn't that be a merry Christmas to him, haha! On her other side, the chubby, bucktoothed, be-speckled boy cheered as his game made a triumphant exploding noise, whiny music snaking from it, almost as irritating as the music in the plane.

"So. Why're you looking so down, uh- what did you say your name was? Come one girl, spill!" Bianca fixed her frizzed blond hair and re-applied the inch thick coating of make up on her cheeks. "Your boyfriend dump you too? Men are idiots."

"No. He didn't dump me."

"Ooh! I know!" Bianca grinned, showing her nicotine-yellow teeth. "I'll be he cheated on you, you walked in on him and then dumped him! Am I right? Tell me I'm right!"

"No, you're not. Now if you'll leave me alone."

"Aw, come on! It's a long flight!" she pleaded, pouting at her scowl.

"**Look! I don't particularly want to talk about my parent dragging me home when this will be my boyfriend's last Christmas, so will you please LEAVE ME ALONE.**"

Instantly, the plane around her went silent as every passenger, from complaining, creaking elderly men to the smallest, whimpering baby turned to her, open mouthed. Rosette blinked at her suddenly very attentive, very large audience.

------------------------------end chapter 63------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Whoops! I don't think that's what Rosette planned on doing, and it's not what I _planned_ on having her do, but if we did everything as we planned it, life wouldn't be very interesting now would it? So. What'll Rosette say? Why's Bianca so interested? Will Chrono really end up spending his last Christmas alone? Who knows? I suppose we'll find out in the next couple chapters of… NTNP! Yah!


	64. Home

A/N: Well. I've been updating like crazy, simply to xxxxx can't say. Top secret. But…pout I guess everyone is gone for Christmas, cuz the hits are low. (Or did you just stop reading) But that's fine. I have my cat, my dog, my newt, my fish, my parents, my brother, and my alter ego to keep me company! Yah! Laughs Alright! I've started a new hobby; it's called: Expand My Music Tastes! How do I do this? Well, you find a place that sells music recordings cheap (wherever you find them. Buck or Two, Value village, thrift shops, etc. Sale bins. Whatever. Doesn't matter.) Then, you reach into the bin and pull out a couple cd/ cassettes/ whatever you have the equipment to play and pull out how every many you can afford/decided on getting (but you have to be able to afford it.) Now. Here's the MOST IMPORTANT THING: you **cannot **look at the cd/ tape as you draw it/them! It's random, this way, you have no say in what you draw! Grins I know, this sounds insane, but it's a neat way to try new music, AND think about it! What have you got to lose? (That's the reason I said _cheap_, by the way.) The worst that will happen is you won't like it, and the best-case scenario is you'll really like it. (You could also do this at the library, if you want, but then you have to bring them back, even if you like them, and they can be very well used. Still, it's another good place to look!)

Example/ case study : I went to value village, and discovered they were selling old tapes off for 99¢/ea. Figuring this was a pretty good place to start, I shut my eyes and took four cassettes off the rack. Nat King Cole, Guns and Roses, Take Back (that/ something. I don't remember) and Roch Voisine. (Sorry. I can't spell his name. He's a Quebec singer. I happened to pull one of his English tapes.)

What happened? Well, I tried them yesterday, finally in the range of a cassette player for more then two minutes. Well! Grins I had great fun! I sat at my drafting table, the cassettes on my shelf, my comic before me to shade (chapter 3 of Bridges is nearly finished. I just have about 30+ hours of shading left to do! Sneko cheers) And then, the moment of truth! I put on the first tape, Roch Voisine… insert sigh of delight here. Uwah! The guys music is very much pop, but that was fine- Uwah! (Be prepared to find some songs from that tape, Kissing Rain, here, because there were a couple that really, really fit! Happy happy) I actually listen to that for a good -oh…three hours? Four hours? As I was working.

Then I put on Take back. Sneko falls over laughing. It was boy band singing at its most high-pitched cooing- utterly hilarious! I listened to that one twice before taking it out. I'm pretty sure it gave me cavities, but I have a good dentist. Or I hoped I did, because it was then I decided to switch genres- you guessed it! Guns and Roses. Sneko grins Well, I can't really report on that one yet, because I only listened to half the songs before I went up to my Nan's to help with supper (mmmmmm. Hamburger pie!) So I suppose you'll have to find out how the tape turned out next chapter (or at the end). However, it sounded good so far! Nice and LOUD! Yay! happy happy. Wow. Nearly a page of author's notes…well, I think I know why. I noticed recently I'm not writing so much in my journal, and that's because it all goes here -well, the publicly acceptable stuff, and nothing bad about any person. So. You guys, beside reading NTNP, also get a brief glance into the head of the psycho kitty-girl: Sneko/McB! Count yourselves lucky! (and try the music thing- it's so cool, and fun. (Falls over laughing at the thought of Take Back.) Ok. Well, I suppose I should get on with the story, ne? Readers send Sneko a murderous look Ok, ok, Sneko backs away I'll start writing the story. Eeeek! Oh! Wait!

One more thing: Please check out Riku54- Vincent's demon ('s) webpage! You can post fanfics, origi-fics, pictures, pretty much anything up to T+. I'm an administrator there, so come on over and give me a shout! See yah!

End Author's notes, pre-story, chapter 64.

Chapter 64, NTNP

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_Grey swallowed, slipping through the shadows towards the human realm, his fingers making trails in the thick dust coats on the rough stones._

_What did he do? _

_If he went with Superior, and prevented Chrono and Rosette from getting together, Golden would never forgive him. She would never, ever smile at him, or hug him, or let him talk her out of some crazy scheme, or drag him along on a crazy scheme, ever, ever again!_

_And he didn't think he could bear that. _

_So that left the other option, betraying Superior._

_But that would mean **Golden's** death. Superior would kill her instead. Him too, but that didn't matter. _

_If Golden was gone, he'd have no reason to be anyway. _

_If you died in heaven, where did you go next? Did you cease to exist? Below him, the gates of Earth opened, revealing the thick, choking smell of exhaust, woven into the biting, gnawing winter breath that swooped in, devouring his robes, his flesh. How did humans survive in these conditions? He didn't think he could, but then, many humans couldn't either, right? But that wasn't important._

_Slowly, he stepped out onto the Tooth, a large, pointed rock where the angels would take off from, should they lower themselves to Earth._

_Now what? Did he save Golden and himself, condemning an innocent human a lifetime of hell and an ex-angel to non-existence? Or, did he condemn himself and Golden to death? Or hell, depending on Superior's will._

_Below him, cars rushed by, too and fro, the city a-bustle as it prepared for Christmas, mad with shoppers, decorators, cook(er)s, all working their hardest._

_"And one lone angel looked down from above." Grey stood, spreading his wings to catch the icy air, his feathers quivering with apprehension at what he was to do._

_"Golden!" he called, his voice swallowed by the air as he stepped, trembling to the edge of the Tooth. "Forgive me!" _

_Then he was aloft, mission ingrained._

_His was Fate._

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"You mean, like, there's something wrong with your boyfriend, and like, your parents are making you _leave _him for Christmas? And he won't ever have another on?"

Rosette banged her head on her desk, groaning.

If her father ever found out what had happened after that, she'd never live it down. No, wait. She'd be dead so fast… shaking her head, she pulled aside the velvet and lace curtains covering her picture windows overlooking the Delphi Lake. Clambering onto the heated floor and padding into the shower.

How strange it seemed, as she washed her hair, slowly scrubbing it as the water rinsed the salt from her face, not having to get out of the shower within five minutes because of the line up outside the door. Here, she could stay in the shower for an hour, or two, if she wished.

Five minutes after she started, she was out of the shower, feeling guilty over wasting so much water and time. Ah well, how could _anyone_ spend more than five minutes in the shower anyway? It made your skin go funny. She peered at her reflection as she dried off, rubbing her hair vigorously before returning through the strings of steamy glass beads to her room to find something to wear, walking past the clock as it ticked 6:00 am. What was she doing up? She wondered, riffling through her closet to find a tee-shirt and jeans that weren't so stiffly new looking. After a ten minute search and no luck, she gave up, threw her housecoat onto the floor, thought better of the action and picked it up, folding it, and stormed over to her suitcase, pulling out a pair of rumpled but clean jeans and hauling them on. Honestly! Was it so hard to find something to wear that you could move in? How were you supposed to catch runaway kids if your jeans were so tight you couldn't walk? And those tee shirts! She couldn't remember wearing any of them.

Of course she didn't. Rosette stopped, her hands frozen in the suitcase as she stared at the clothes Chrono had helped her fold and pack. Of course she hadn't worn those cloths. A harsh laugh broke from her throat and she dropped, kneeling to the floor. Her? Rosette Christov, wear the same clothes twice? Ug, never.

The idea of wearing the same sweater until it was barely staying together would never occur to her, Rosette Christov. She swallowed, pulling out a much patched pare of jeans- how often had Chrono sewn these for her? They were covered in grass stains and food stains and blood stains from all the Sunday trips to the park with the kids. Chrono had suggested she put aside a pair of jeans or warm pants for the excursions, other wise she'd ruin half her wardrobe. Rosette shook her head, setting the jeans aside and pulling out a tee-shirt to wear.

A small, neatly wrapped package landed with a soft, whispering plop on the silk coverlet.

For a long, frozen moment, she stood there, staring at it, as outside, the little winter juncos started twittering on her balcony- she'd put food out for them the night before- an the sun hissed over the horizon, lighting up the rows of buildings on the other side of the icy, glittering lake.

Slowly, her hand made it from her mouth to the package and she scooped it up, her fingers pressing over the carefully taped seams, smoothing them.

"Miss Rosette?" there was a knock on the door and a maid came in, blinking sleepily. "Are you alright, miss? You're up -yawn- very early. Are you ill?"

"No, no I'm fine. And call me Rosette. You are?"

"Margarita." she stiffened, standing up strait, her black eyes flashing. "And miss! I couldn't, wouldn't _dare_ call you Rosette! The- Mr. Christov would fire me!" Rosette stood, setting the package aside and went to the maid, shutting the intricately carved wooden door with a snort.

"Margarita, look, don't worry about my parents. Have a seat." she gestured to the enormous, over stuffed white lace couch, covered in a thick plastic sheet. Margarita shuddered as she sat down on the cold, slippery surface. "I agree. It's awful." she sat on the equally plastic-y chair, wrinkling her nose. "I don't know how my parents can live like this! I can't believe it!" she missed the basement couch , the one with the cat scratched, itchy upholstery. "So, do you have a family you're providing for?" The girl stiffened, her aura flickering with fright.

"No- yes ma'am. My younger brothers and sisters." she slumped, picking at her skirt.

"How many?" Rosette asked, noticing for the first time that she'd resumed playing with the gift.

"Four, besides me. Joan, Leah, Greg and Carl."

"You the oldest?"

"No. Greg is." Margarita's face lit up. "He's such a- a prude!" she laughed. "I well- you won't tell, will you?- I went to a bar with this boy, a wonderful, wonderful boy, just my age- well, a day older- Greg- oh dear Greg! He found out, and oh! He was livid! Poor Timmy! He got chased from the house with a broom! A broom!" Rosette laughed. She could picture Kye doing that for one of his little sister's first boyfriends.

If only she…

"So," she shook the thought off. "Did Timothy come back?"

"Oh! Timmy? Dear yes!" Margarita's face shone. "Come back he did, and he apologised to Greg right formally to! Oh, you should've seen the look on Greggy's face too!" Margarita grinned, sitting back. "Ooh He was so shocked!" Rosette smiled, listening to the girl as she described her older brother and his various adventures, from girlfriend to girlfriend, and to her own misadventures. "So," she finished, her black eyes sparkling. "Have you ever been in love?"

"Me?" Rosette blinked, glancing down at the package in her hands (which her now green from the paper.). "Well-"

"**ROSETTE CHRISTOV!"** both girls jumped as the intercom above shook. **"COME TO MY OFFICE THIS MINUTE!!!"** Rosette grinned weakly.

"That answer your question?" she helped her new friend up. "Thank you, Margarita. Good luck with Timmy."

"Yes Miss!"

"Call me Rosette." she saluted before heading into the long, dark wood hallway.

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"Hello Father!" Rosette tried to smile as she entered her father's study- really a library, filled with all kinds of 'serious' books- no fiction of course, and no revolutionary science- though the science books were all down in his labs. Her stomach twisted, her eyes flitting to the large, white steel buildings plainly visible through her father's window.

There, Chrono had been 'tested' to the point of near death- and she hadn't known.

"Hello, Daughter." her thoughts were broken as she noticed the roiling red auroic cloud surrounding her father as he set the phone down onto the desk with a stiff click.

"Rosette." she looked up, noticing her mother, pale faced, seated in the chair in the corner.

"Mum! I didn't expect you to be up as well. How are you? I'm sorry I haven't seen you-"

"Rosette, what are you _wearing_, child? Haven't you anything less…rag-ggedy?" Rosette blinked as her mother's face twisted in disgust, the bony woman shaking her hands as if to rid them of something foul. Surprised, she glanced down at her jeans and tee. Sure, they weren't pristine, but they were practical.

"Easy, Marilyn." her father growled. "Clothing we can handle another time- BUT THIS!" he pointed to the telephone as it started ringing for the third time since she's entered the huge room. "**What is the meaning of _this_?**" Beeep! The voicemail kicked in, releasing a loud, shrieking voice into the office.

"VINCENT CASTOV!" the high, creaking voice screeched. "YOU HEARTLESS OLD MONSTER! HOW DARE YOU RIP THAT LOVELY GIRL OF YOURS AWAY FROM THE MAN SHE LOVES WHEN ITS CHRISTMAS! REALLY! HAVE YOU NOT THE HEART TO ALL-" Vincent Christov's finger hit the off button, sending the silence slamming into her.

Instantly, her stomach liquefied as he stood, pacing to the window and standing there, hands folded, his back an icy silhouette a his fingers tap-tap tapped against the sill.

"Now, Rosette Christov. Would you care to tell me _what exactly you said when you were on that plane_. Seeing as we've been getting these sort of calls ever since you returned home, I believe we have a right. To. Know." She gulped as the tapping increased.

This was not a good way to start Christmas holidays.

--------------------------------End chapter 64--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: ooh! What did Rosette say on the plane? I guess you'll find out next chapter- and with the kids and Rosette gone home for the holidays, what's our favourite demon reborn doing?


	65. News on Wings

A/N: Hey guys! I'm guessing most of you are still away, or I finally scared you away, not that I want to, but hey, not everyone likes the way the story's going. But, that's your business, not mine. Don't like, don't read, as I said at the beginning of the story!

I had a dream the other night, which is funny, because I very rarely have them! Anyway, I dreamt of a way that might make things more peaceful on earth: if we (We meaning mainly North America, because come on guys, we're the worst rats when it comes to consumption) got rid of the belief that the more possessions we have, that happier we'd be, and then we started being happy with less, then we wouldn't want everything bigger, faster, better, and would be content with what we had. _Then_ we'd need to get rid of greed. Greed doesn't work in this plan, because people have to want this goal of everyone being equal. If people don't want it, and don't work for it, from their own beliefs to the government, it won't work, because this is a job of the heart in the beginning that moves up through the people.

We need the heart.

Reduce consumption stop greed (this is internal, personal) eventually switch to a bartering program instead of money, where you work for what you want/ need, or trade something you worked for

There are other things too. Communication and understanding between cultures has to be there, but the need for more it the thing causing the most problems. That's what's got to go, because if people aren't 100 in this, there will be problems- this works only with everyone. Otherwise, people who don't agree will take advantage of others, and what we need and what's not there now -with good reason, understandably- is trust.

Alright, alright, I'm done for now. Sorry. That's just the thoughts running around in this kitty's head. She'll start writing now.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the head on my shoulders, and eventually, the earth will own that. I suppose all I've got is my soul.

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Previously, in New Time, New Place:

Instantly, her stomach liquefied as he stood, pacing to the window and standing there, hands folded, his back an icy silhouette a his fingers tap-tap tapped against the sill.

"Now, Rosette Christov. Would you care to tell me _what exactly you said when you were on that plane_. Seeing as we've been getting these sort of calls ever since you returned home, I believe we have a right. To. Know." She gulped as the tapping increased.

This was not a good way to start Christmas holidays.

---------------------------------Chapter 65-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You mean, like, there's something wrong with your boyfriend, and like, your parents are making you _leave _him for Christmas? And he won't ever have another one?" Rosette swallowed, looking from the imploring, shocked eyes of Bianca to the curious eyes of the other travellers.

"It-it's kind of a long-"

"Good!" the kid next to her grinned, looking like a high rabbit. "We've got a long flight."

"Indeed." Said the woman in the seat ahead of her, a narrow, bony woman in a pristine business suit with a greying braid pulling stiffly back from her wrinkling face. "We might as well waste this time listening to your history."

"Oh Gertrude, give the child a chance! Is he handsome dear?" a second woman asked, younger, with a round, smiling face and a little boy perched on her lap.

"Well…" Rosette sighed, dropping her head back onto the seat. "He- he wouldn't be considered handsome, not if you just walked by him. Unusual, very, and somewhat ragged looking. Anyway, my father doesn't want me associating- "

"Oh come on!" Bianca groaned. "Give us more than that! What colour's his hair? His eyes? What does he do? Why doesn't-"

"What are you looking for?" Rosette snapped, folding her arms and glaring at the back of the next seat. "It's none of your business!"

"No. It's not." Bianca agreed, "But I think you need to spill. Now do it!" She sat, quiet, staring at the seat.

What the hell. Closing her eyes, she sighed.

"It started about back in late September, when I went to St. John's for the Real life project…"

As the plane flew, further and further away from St. John's and closer and closer to Mikolin, she told them the whole story, from the least believable to the most, how they'd met, about the kids, how her father had used Chrono as a test subject to how his brother was using them.

She lost track after that, telling the funny stories, the walks in the snow, rescuing the kids, the party…

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"So, you told them everything." Vincent growled, his fingers still tapping, slower, slower, slower on the huge glass windows. She nodded.

"I did." Suddenly, she realized she was cowering in her oversized chair. Why? She didn't cower! What was she doing, huddling back like she'd done something wrong? "I did." she repeated, standing and stalking over to the desk. "Is there a problem with that? " Vincent's laugh crackled through the room, as loud and paralyzing as thunder, but she stayed where she stood, hands thumping onto his desk as he turned, his eyes glinting.

"A problem? Is there a problem? **You little fool! Of course there is! Wasn't that call enough to show you?!**" She fell back a step. He was right. What had she done?

No.

What had _he_ done?

"**That call was enough to show YOU father, that what you're is wrong! What gives you the right to test people like- like animals? Bacteria? What gives you the right to play God?**"

"God? Who said I was playing God? I simply was trying to make the world a better place!"

"Bull! Bullshit! If this throws the cover on your project, far be it for me to complain! Good riddance! At least then people wouldn't be locked up! Chained and tested!"

"**I test people, making the human race stronger!"**

"**You nearly killed him! You test them until near they no longer exist!" **

"**I do nothing of the sort, Rosette Christov! They aren't humans, they're freaks or nature, abnormalities! We study them to learn our own nature!" **

"**You have no idea what it is to be human!"**

"**You have jeopardized our entire existence, I hope you know!"**

"**You know what? I don't care! You nearly killed too many people, **_**Father**_**. Maybe you need to be in danger!"**

"Rosette!"

She ignored her mother's shocked gasp and turned, storming towards the door as the message beeper began again on the phone. At least other people, others like Chrono wouldn't have to go through what he did!

"Randal!" She heard her father yells something to someone or another as she stalked towards her room. A shadow fell over her path, the heavy wooden door to the study slamming shut behind her father.

"It's nice to see you're co-operating, Miss Rosette." she turned, gasping and backing up as the huge man leered at her, his gap-toothed grin flashing before he shoved her into her room.

She heard the thump as he locked the door.

"Randal! Call the papers who've decided to stick their filthy little noses into this! Tell them the girl's mad. Insane. Ill. Whatever you have to. Tell them that's why we're bringing her home!

Insane?

That was how he planned on getting out of this mess, when he was the mad man? Clenching her teeth, she tried the door. As she knew it would be, it was locked, top bottom and centre.

"DAMMIT!" she kicked the heavy wood, her eyes flashing. "LET ME OUT!" It wouldn't work, she knew, but it felt good to hit something. Unfortunately, the only thing she got out of it was a sore foot, so she gave up after ten minutes or so, flopping back onto the bed, sinking back onto the covers.

"Ow!" she yelped as something pointy dug into her back. "What the-"

Chrono's Christmas present.

She held it up, turning it so it went from shadow to brightness in the windows glow. It was a pity he wasn't here now. "Ug! When did I get so friggen sentimental?" she tore open the little parcel, curious as it rattled softly, tinkling, inside the small grey box beneath the paper.

It wasn't a big box. In fact, it was smaller than her palm as she slid to the floor of the room. Here, seemed as though if she dropped the small, fuzzy box, she would lose it instantly among the rugs, lace and velvet. It would vanish, her along with it, into a world of silken insanity, crushed between marble walls.

That seemed to be the fate her father had decided for her.

"Bull shit!" She lifted the lid of the box and let the fine silver chain slide, cooling, through her fingers, glittering like fresh snow. A necklace? She held it up, inspecting the small pendant at the centre.

It was shaped like a miniature pocket watch, only a couple centimetres in diameter. Carefully, as though it would break, she turned it over. The face of the clock was beneath a tiny circle of glass, but instead of hands and numbers, a small, blue flowered plant peered out at her, it's petals squeaking the same message they had for centuries.

Forget-me-not.

Forget-me-nots! She leapt to her feet, darting to the balcony, slinging the necklace on, tucking it into her shirt. _Of course._ Granted, her parents weren't stupid, and there was guards but she could find a way around those. But how in hell was she going to get to Newfoundland?

"Miss Rosette!" she glanced over her shoulder at the faint rap on the door. "Miss Rosette, it's Margarita! "

"Margarita! Can you get me out of here?"

"I intend to! Why didn't you mention your boyfriend to me?"

"Well-"

"Never mind!" the door opened and she entered, carrying a tray. "The phones are ringing of the hook Rosette. What did you _do_?" She groaned, flicking her hair from her eyes. "Honestly. There's been a ton of calls for you too."

"Did Chrono call?" she tried calling him earlier, but he hadn't answered. "I didn't let him know if I made it here ok."

"Dunno."

"Hurry up in there girl!" Margarita winced as the guard thumped on wall.

"I am, I am, Sir, sorry!" hurriedly, she set the tray down on the desk. "I'll be back later to pick up the tray." she scurried to the door, pausing. " Miss Rosette, if you need anything, anything at all, please let me know. I'll be back to pick up the tray later."

"Wha- Marg- the door shut, the locks grating across her heart. Now what? Margarita could've- could've what? Had she done anything, the girl would lose her job. Her family was depending on her.

No. Rosette glanced around the puffy, disgustingly clean, feminine room.

It was time for a little solo mission.

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"WOOF."

"Hey Ella." Chrono smiled slightly as the dog rushed to the dog, her tail wagging furiously. Tongue flopping, she rolled over, stretching out her belly for him to rub. He complied, running his fingers through the thick black fur for a couple minutes before heading for the kitchen. Ella blinked for a minute, realized he wasn't planning on going to the door for awhile and thrashed her way back to her feet, clattering into the kitchen as Chrono listlessly stacked dishes into the cupboards.

It was so quiet. He looked around the kitchen, out through the window to the yard, but he knew what he would find.

No one.

Like Rosette, the rest of the boarders had returned home for the holidays, and the kids were celebrating with their families. He sighed again, sitting on the stool. How often had Rosette sat here, watching him cook, or studying her lines?

How many- he shook his head. She was at home- well, going home. She'd be there in a couple hours- and then, she could pass a nice Christmas at home, with people who cared about her. _But you care about her_. A voice in his head needled. _You care about her. You-_ he flicked the power switch on the radio, turning it up as loud as he could stand, trying to drown out that little, sassafras-ing irritating voice. Some music would cover that, no problem.

If only he was so lucky.

"Hey, maybe I'll dye my hair  
Maybe I'll move somewhere  
Maybe I'll get a car  
Maybe I'll drive so far  
They'll all lose track  
Me, I'll bounce right back

Maybe I'll sleep real late  
Maybe I'll lose some weight  
Maybe I'll clear my junk  
Maybe I'll just get drunk on apple wine  
Me, I'll be just

Fine and Dandy  
Lord it's like a hard candy Christmas  
I'm barely getting through tomorrow  
But still I won't let  
Sorrow bring me way down

I'll be fine and dandy  
Lord it's like a hard candy Christmas  
I'm barely getting through tomorrow"

**Click.**  
"That's not quite what I had in mind." he shook his head and laughed. Even the radio seemed to share his mood. "Alright Elly. C'mon girl, let's hit the streets for awhile." He needed to get out of the house. Then, he would solve whatever it was he was gong to do with himself until Rosette came home- well back. He reminded himself. This wasn't home. This was just where she was staying, now she wasn't.

"Come on Ella, let's run!" he loosed the dogs lead and let her run, heading for the park and letting the pound-pitter-patter of their feet drown out any other thoughts in his head.

Well, almost all the thoughts.

"Ella! Hold up there pup!" he skidded to a stop, dropping onto a bench and tugging a notebook from his pocket. What was it? It just was there… the pencil he'd managed to scrounge up wavered before darting across the page, this way and that, scribbling then erasing lines…

"Ella! Come on girl! We've gotta get back to the house!" How did it go again? The fragile pieces flitted in his head, like sand in his fingers, slipping away, bit by bit.

But it was there. Nudging, fleeting, shy, but his song was back, wanting to be sung.

This time, he wouldn't let it get away. He ran, his feet bounding out the new rhythm, his breath humming the tune. Ella tore after him, panting and nervous at the change as he scrambled with the lock, pounding towards the basement without bothering to take of his shoes.

Crash! Chrono shook himself, sliding onto the piano seat, dropping his note pad beside him, ignoring his carpet burned hands from falling down the stairs as he poked at the keys, nosing the song out. This was the hard part, because it had been two years since he'd composed anything. But that was ok now. A A G? B A BBEF? No, that wasn't it.

Ella whined softly as he went at it, feverishly trying to find the right patter, the right fingering. Eventually, she gave up, curling up in her basket and sleeping.

When Ella awoke, he was still at the piano, but it was different.

"When you got to the gates, what did they say? What did they say?

They said: "what you trying to prove- you're gonna give us away!"

A hesitation, he was looking again. She stood up, padding over and sitting by the huge, singing monster. Why was he petting it? She licked it, but it said nothing to her, the great meany, responding only to the Feederperson as he petted it. Still, its sound was pretty. Feeder (Chrono) kept petting it, and it would respond. He was talking to it. Saying funny words, not like 'sit' 'come on' but weird words, like:

"making those sounds down on the ground, that's no place-

we tried to buy time for you to give it up,

maybe stumble and fall under the weight."

Chrono scribbled the last note onto the paper, smiling as the radio announced it was 4:00 am and toppled over, asleep, on the bench, the pencil falling with a clatter to the floor.

----------------------------------------------------------End chapter 65--------------------------------------------------

A/N: I know. Part of that chapter was written from Ella's pov. Sorry. I wanted to try that. The reason Chrono got so excited by a song was because for two years, he hadn't written any new music. This is important for him, because it means he still can, and he wasn't sure if he could or not. Alright, I'm off. Tata!


	66. To Go To a Place Called Home

A/N: Phweeeeee! Happy New Years! Ok, New Years eve, and I won't be posting this until…whenever, because I'm stock piling chapters for when I'm in exams and won't be able to write. Granted, I might be done by then, but I could also be panicking over my exams…'cause I'm like that! (I'm one of those idiots who freaks out if they get a bad mark.) But whatever! That's not important! I have a chapter to write!!!

Disclaimer: Like I said last time, eventually I won't even own my own head, so obviously, I don't own Chrono crusade!

------------------------Chapter 66! Whooohoooo!----------------------------------------------------------------

_Grey swallowed, crouching by the basement window, peering in to where a teen lay, sound asleep, oblivious to the stars peeping out from the clouds, or of the angel who stared at him, his stomach twisting. _

_"It's alright, Grey," the angel warned himself, fiddling with the clasp. "And why do we have to fiddle with windows if we're supposed to be magic?" He grumbled as the window finally creaked open, sticking his leg through and feeling carefully with his foot. All safe. _

_Ducking his head under the glass, he scooted into the shadows of the room- and jerked to a stop._

_"Hello Grey." Swallowing, he looked over his shoulder as he was pulled out of the room by the wings. Viede smiled, his eyes narrowing. "Greetings from Superior."_

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The thing with her parents, Rosette decided, was that they insisted on being domineering people. If they could just let things be, let her enjoy her own life, then they wouldn't have this problem, would she? They'd never taken this much interest in her affairs before, (Except for school, but she didn't really count that.) so what gave her father the right to mess with her love life? She fixed her sweater and boots, slinging her back pack over her shoulders as she opened the balcony door a crack. It was only because of who and what Chrono was that they had a problem with this and she would NOT let that stop her. Crouching low on the balcony, she scanned the dark yard below. She felt bad about not telling Margarita about her plans, but she didn't want to cost the girl her job. Above her, the stars stared at her, their eyes narrowed, as if calculating her next move.

"Calculate all you want." she growled at them, leaning from the balcony onto the wintered skeleton of the closest tree. She bit her lip as the branch creaked, whimpering under he weight.

She'd have to go quickly.

"Hiya!" She threw herself towards a larger- hopefully stronger- branch and grabbed, swishing through the frozen air before connecting, dangling, her feet barely visible in the black carpet below her. She couldn't jump, as she'd planned, she couldn't see what was below. "Up we go." she grunted, hauling herself onto the branch, scooting to the trunk, panting. A crackled echoed up from the darkness, footsteps pounding by.

"**There was a movement from Miss Christov's room! Call in ….**" the voice slashed past her hearing as she waited by the trunk, cursing. How could they have noticed so quick- unless, of course, they'd been watching the balcony.

"Dammit!" Of course they'd been watching the balcony! It was the only way out of her room besides the obviously locked door.

Well, she would just have to go anyway! Gritting her teeth -Ug, they were fuzzy because she hadn't taken the time to brush them after Margarita left- she grabbed the nearest branch, sliding down a bit.

"Rowlf! Rrrrrr." there was a scrabbling from the ground.

"**45's found something!"**

"Oh for sassafras sakes!" she snapped off the thickest branch she could.

"Rosette! Miss Rosette! Now young miss, you- you aren't feeling right. Come down now, and don't give us any trouble." She swallowed, but didn't move, her eyes narrowed against the darkness., her breath held in her throat with her pounding heart.

"Rosette, we know you're up there." The dog gave another bark, and she could hear more coming. "It's alright, we won't hurt you. But you're very ill right now." Like hell she was! Was this how her father was getting out of the problems? Saying she was insane? Margarita had said the calls were still coming in at dinner time, but that was too bad. If her father got found out, it wasn't soon enough.

"Rosette! Alright, young lady, I'm coming up." there was a clatter and a ladder snaked up through the darkness, silver in the moonlight. Her fingers tightened around the branch and she got her feet under her.

5. "Miss Rosette!" the voice grew louder, the ladder shaking, its hollow legs calling to her.

4. "Rosette, young lady, your father won't be please to hear about this." She pushed her twisting gut to the back of her reeling head.

3. "You sure she's up there, Red? Maybe it was someone sneaking into her room."

2. "Oh she's here." Red growled, his dark, hulking shape lurching higher, higher, closer, closer. "45 never lies, and besides, she's not in her room. Isn't that right, Rosette?" he was up, just past her. "Come on back now."

1. "Damn right I'm not!" Wham! She skidded down the ladder, swinging the branch and scattering the security personnel who'd gathered nervously at the bottom.

"Get her!" Red's voice boomed from the tree, but she was already running, her heart screaming in her ears as her feet sought purchase in the dark.

Clang. Ahead of her, the gate shut, rattling its creaking bones. Damn, well, there was always- a hand closed over her arm, then another on the other side, scrabbling out from the black.

"Let me go!" she snarled, clawing, kicking, elbowing anything that came close. Damn! What she wouldn't give for a gospel! And where was Chrono- wrong life, she reminded herself, thrashing. She had to get free! But more and more arms snaked around her, and the yellow light ahead, the door, grew, larger, larger, a shadow appearing in it, tall, unmoving, waiting as she was towed in.

"Well, I wasn't expecting something so obvious, Rosette, but I suppose that was the only option possible." Slam! The door behind her shut, immediately blocked by Red and his squad, minus the three holding her.

"Let me go! You- you- _mother_?" Rosette froze, her hair flopping in a tangle around her face as Mrs. Rene Christov turned.

"Yes Rosette. It's me. You're father won't be happy about this, to be sure." she growled, her lithe arms folded across her chest as her dark blue eyes bored into her daughter's. "And Rosette, what exactly were you planning to do when you got out?" the hem of her green skirt whispered across the floor as she paced, her hands clasping behind her back. "How did you plan to get to Newfoundland, on the day before Christmas eve, with no plane ticket? Hmm? With half the province looking for you as a runaway? And do let her sit down, Randal." Randal/ Red pushed her down in the black leather chair.

"I'll stand, thank you very mu-" Rosette tried to stand, but Mrs. Christov glowered at her.

"**Sit. **I can just as easily call your father to handle this."

"Call him! I don't care!" Rosette spat, pushing at Red's huge hands. "Just let me go!" She banged futilely on the polished coffee table, slumping.

"Rosette, calm down, before I'm forced to drug you!" Rene moaned, rubbing at her temples. "Rosette," she sat on the chair next to her, lowering her voice. "Even had you escaped, you would never have made it back to Newfoundland. Never."

"Well, that's no different than now, is it?" Her fingers curling into fists, Rosette glared at the well guarded door, wishing for a truck to plough through it. Instead, one of the guards walkie talkies buzzed and he listened for a moment.

"Ma'am."

"Open the gates then. And its about time. He'll wake up soon." Rene grumbled, smoothing her skirt. Rosette stiffened as headlights leered through the heavy grey curtains, Red's hand's tightening on her shoulders. "Get her into the car. We have about three hours to do this." Rene barked, glancing around the room.

"Get me where- d- LET GO!" Again she was towed by the guards, this time to be thrown into a small black car. She made a dive for the door as they started off, but the locks clicked into place.

"Dammit!"

"Rosette, I told you to calm down!" Rene warned from the front seat. "Red!"

"What! What you-" Rosette yelped as something pricked her neck.

Then everything dissolved into spots of darkness.

Behind them, the lights of the Christov mansion fade into those of the city as they drove on into the night.

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"Mmnnn….." Rosette blinked hazily, the grey felt of the car's ceiling swirling into view.

"Are you quite calm now?" Rene sniffed. "Really Rosette. That was most unlady like."

"Must come from living with common folk." To her shock, Rene smiled.

"Well, I suppose you better get back there, shouldn't you?" She pointed out the window with the roll of paper in her hands. Groaning- her head hurt soooo much- Rosette eased herself up, blinking. Outside, the lights of Mikolin central airport glimmered, waiting.

"What the hell?" Rene smiled again, her lips quirking into the unusual position for the second time that car ride.

"These are for you, Rosette." the roll of paper, an envelope, was dropped into her hands. Heart fluttering, Rosette slid the top open, pulling out the plane ticket and five hundred dollars. Rene swallowed, fiddling with her braid. "I- well, My parents, wanted me to marry a man of wealth. They arranged a marriage without telling me, thinking they were doing what was best. They told me only a week before the occasion that they were marrying me to the son of their business partner, the Christovs. I was not… I didn't have the courage to stand up to them." Rosette stared at her mother's thin form, suddenly seeming so old, slumped in the front of a tattered car but trapped into something she'd never wanted.

"Was ther- did you have someone you loved?"

"Yes." she whispered, "but he's long married now, and I- well, so am I. And it isn't me I'm trying to help now." Rene turned, touching her cheek shyly, cutting off her objections. "Rosette, go to him. I don't know how long it will be until Vincent catches up, and we will have time to talk later, I'm afraid." the locks on the door clicked open as Red returned. "You must hurry."

"Right." Rosette slipped out of the car, her head spinning. "Mom?"

"Don't say anything. Let's go." she heard Rene call, and the car, guards and all, sped away, another pair of taillights in the dark.

"Rosette!" a wave caught her attention as a figure hurried over.

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A/N: alright, I don't know when you'll read this, but whenever you do, I hope you enjoy it!


	67. Days He Spent

A/N: Hello people! I'm writing this chapter on New Years Day! Oo, it's soooo late! (i.e., 9:52am) I had to sleep in because (of course) I stayed up until midnight! Yaaay! Unfortunately, my head is having trouble getting into the story, mainly because dreamt of Bridges last night…siiiigh. Well, I didn't dream of it, but I lay in bed this morning "sleeping in" and it sort of wandered into my poor NTNP filled head…well, I guess I'll put finger to key board and see what I come up with for chapter 67 of NTNP! Hope you enjoy!

Whups! I forgot! I don't own Chrono Crusade. Only Bridges.

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_"Vi-Viede?" Grey gasped, spots dancing in his eyes as the human yanked on his wing, stretching the ligaments. Viede grinned. _

_"I was wondering when you'd get here, Grey! About time! " he grumbled. "The big guy won't like this." Grey swallowed. _

_"Look, Viede," he flexed his wing as the other released it. "I'm not here because Superior told me to be. I'm here-"_

_"To stop Superior, yes, I know, but I wouldn't go announcing that. Come on. We have to get back to heaven. Well, you do."_

_"What? Are you nuts? What are we doing that for- and wait! You work for Superior, so why should I trust you?"_

_"You shouldn't, but Chrono and Rosette will be fine, believe me."_

_"As if!" Grey snapped, heading for the window. _

_"Grey don't!" Again, Viede made a grab for his wings, but the shimmering angel had already dived into dark pool of the room. "Grey!" Viede cursed, leaning through the tiny hole. "Grey, don't go near him! If you do, your holy energy might open up his third eye to let him see you! If that happens, it-"_

_"Oh shut up!"_

_"Grey, I'm serious! Seeing an angel is like having a vision, you're a messenger from God! Grey!" The teen ran his hands back over his hair, swearing again. What was he supposed to do? He had to stop Grey! _

_"You really do mean that, don't you?"_

_"What?" He looked up as Grey clambered out of the window. _

_"You really aren't helping-" Viede put a finger over his lips._

_"You got it. Now get your butt back up to heaven! Chrono and Rosette will be fine. Golden won't be."_

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De-deep. De-deep. De-deep. De-deep. De-deep. Smack.

Chrono sighed, rolling over and falling off the sleeping bag and onto the floor.

Christmas eve.

Day two of no kids.

Day two of no Rosette.

"Mmmm?" He patted Ella's head, stepping into the shower and turning the water up full, letting it scald over his back, trying to wake up before he headed down to Lydia's for the day.

Yesterday had been the longest day of his life. Sighing again, he shut of the shower. He dried off. He scrubbed at his dripping hair with a towel, walking back to his room. He tugged a red tee shirt over his head while he searched for his pants, tripping over Ella.

He'd woken late, yesterday morning, rushing to Lydia's. That had been fine, and work had been fine, except for when Mrs. Jackman had to keep getting him to focus on restocking and not on staring out the window at the café across the street. Still, she'd only had to do that every ten minutes or so, so he'd gotten a fair bit done, considering.

He paused in front of the stove, then settled on getting some toast after feeding the animals.

"At least you guys need me," he smiled, scratching Ella's huge black ears as he swallowed his last bite. Absently, he picked up the his song, mulling over the words as Ella crunched on her kibble. No, something was still missing. He choked back a third sigh, dropping the paper onto the table and staring out the window. Rosette would've whacked him for moping like this. For sitting around and waiting.

But she wasn't here.

What would happen, he wondered, if he just showed up at the Christov's? Dr. Christov would probably lock him in the labs immediately, so that wasn't an option.

"Guess I should just go to work, hey Ella. You be good, ok?" He patted the dog once more before shuffling down the street. It was cold, the sky was blue-grey. Now, if it was maybe six shades brighter, he decided, standing at the stoplight, it might have been the colour of the shadowy part of Rosette's eyes, but it still wouldn't have the brilliance. The sun, peeping between the smattering of swollen broody clouds, was the colour of her hair… he shook himself as the light turned red again. Shoot. Concentrate! He glared at the leering red light as it winked at him, waiting…waiting…waiting…

"Oh you!" he looked up as a couple walked by, a young woman, perhaps in her twenties and a guy, probably only a little older than she, hand in hand, their dark heads bent close together as they teased each other. Stopped, fingers wound together, at the red light, Chrono looked away as they shared a quick kiss before crossing the street.

They looked so care-free. He thought ruefully as they strolled in the opposite direction. Then again, so did he and Rosette. So did that couple have a story too? Shrugging, he bolted down the street, hoping he wouldn't end up late before his day off.

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"You are very busy today, Chrono." Mrs. Jackman noted, hanging her long black scarf upon the staff hook as Chrono flitted by, a stack of boxes in his arms.

"Well, this is a good chance to get things done, right? It's before Christmas, and we won't be open until after New Years, so it's a good chance to get things done. Hey, maybe I could stay late today." he started unloading the boxes neatly onto the shelf.

"Child, it is Christmas eve." Mrs. Jackman sighed as he buzzed past again to find a dust cloth for the back shelves.

"You don't have to stay." he poked his head out from behind the tall shelves. "So it's fine, right? I can lock up."

"I know that, but it is Christmas. I will not allow you to work until all hours, just because you need a distraction. It is a bad habit and not one you should pick up." He slumped, finishing his dusting and moving on to cleaning every other surface and object in the store. Considering the little pieces of healing stones that lined every dust shelf, it should've taken most of the morning. Instead, thirty minutes later, the store sparkled. "You are fast worker today, Chrono. You switch from one to other. How about in between, ne?" she shook her head, for he didn't hear her, head down over the display he was changing. "Alright, alright, you can stay late if you like, but you must lock up when you leave, alright?"

"Thanks Mrs. Jackman!" He grinned, his hair flopping into his face. That would solve what he would do tonight! He could work here, because there was always tonnes of paperwork and the like!

Any thing to keep him from thinking.

Rosette…

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"So let me get this strait. You flew, all the way here to pick me up, make sure I got on the right flight, and that I made it back to St. John's?"

"Rosette," Heather grumbled, taking a puff from her cigarette. "Yes. I told you that was the reason. Gawd! Chrono's my little brother."

"And yet you told him that I was pretending to be in love with him."

"I thought you were."

"Well I'm not! Pretending, that is." Heather eyed her, shoving freshly dyed black hair from her eyes.

"I know." she said calmly. "I know that now. I also know he's been sulking the whole time you've been gone." Rosette snorted.

"Chrono doesn't sulk."

"He sticks his head into whatever he's working on and pays no attention to what's going on. You know what he's like." Rosette nodded, staring out the taxi window as they left the airport- perpetually foggy as ever, the sun blocked out by the thick grey blanket.

But that was ok.

The airport fell behind them as they headed for town, music from the crackling radio blaring in their ears as the driver dropped the window. There had been a warm spell for the past couple days, so all the snow had melted, leaving the city brown and steaming. How the weather changed here so quickly, she didn't know. One day it was minus ten, the next plus two.

But that was ok.

The first sign of town that appeared, of course, were the subdivisions. Then the grocery store.

"So Chrono's working today?"

"He's at Lydia's. Do you want to go strait down there?"

"Nope." Rosette smirked. "Home's good."

"I'm not paying for another cab, I hope you know."

"That's fine." Rosette hummed as they passed through into the older part of town. Quarterbad road. Prince of Fish arena.

Bradford street.

"This is my stop." she clambered out of the taxi and picked up her bag. Heather waved.

"Sorry to drop ya and run, Rosie, but I've got an important meeting to go to. Later!" The taxi shot off and she turned, craning her neck to take in the peeling paint, the dripping porch, the streaked windows. A grin spreading haphazardly across her face, she raced up to the door, barely able to hold the keys as she struggled with the lock and threw it open, stumbling in onto the mud caked rug. The door clicked shut, and she leaned against it, her heart beating furiously as Ella ran up, tail twirling, tongue out, skidding over the scoured floor in her excitement.

"Hey Ella! Chrono didn't bring you to work today?" she dropped to the floor, hugging the big, drooling dog. Leaving Ella, she ran up to her room, sprawling out onto the bed.

Home sweet home!

Now, there was only one last thing to do.

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A/N: what's she up to now? And how late is Chrono planning to work? And man, I hate this business of having the chapter done and not posting it- this week has taken FOREVER! I keep wanting to post the next chapter- and the next, and the next! (Ok, I'm not THAT far ahead, but you get the picture. So sorry about the wait guys, but it's hard on me too!


	68. Ella inbetween

A/N: hello! It's the last day before I go back to school…Nooooooooooo. I updated today, Tuesday, and I will try to make that my update day. Note the word try. I now only have one chapter written ahead of time, so I have to finish this one to post it next week… arg. I'm not ready to go back to school! Falls over Oh well! Onto the story!

A/N: Wow...that seems so long ago now...

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Chapter -what is this…..chapter 68! There ya go! -----------------------------------------------------------

Grey rolled his eyes, peering up the steps._ Up to heaven. Down from heaven. What was he? A yo-yo? This was getting irritating!_

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

It was well after ten when he had to admit there was nothing else to do, not after cleaning the rock display for the fourth time. Chrono sighed, dropping down onto the counter, resting his head on his arms. Maybe he could just spend the night here- no. Ella would need a walk. Ella. Right. Out the door. Lock it. What was Rosette doing now? Roll café across the street. She definitely didn't miss that. Pass the Him Tortans. Was she enjoying Christmas Eve? Cross the street. She probably hadn't found the necklace. Keep walking. She'd probably thrown out the suitcase and everything in it. Hotel. Turn. Up the street.

No.

She wouldn't do that, not the Rosette he knew. Left fork. Up, up, up. Not his Rosette. Pass the pizza store. She might've at first, but she'd grown up. Cross the street to the circle. She'd probably grown past him now, and going home had probably shown her that. Up, up, up. After all, he was so much…

No. He stopped; hand on the wrought iron fence he and Mr. Remington shared, staring through the trees. She wasn't like that. He slid the key into the lock, his brow furrowing. His Rosette, the one he shared a house with, a home with, the one who- well, Rosette. She had grown, changed. He pushed the door open. They'd hugged and kissed, in a no way sibling-like way, and he, well… "Hey Ella." He scratched the dog's ears and put her on the leash before locking up again, skidding down and across through the dark towards the playground.

It was time to stop questioning himself. It really didn't help, and Rosette usually got mad at him for it. She'd be able to tell when she came back for the play, and then she'd hit him.

He couldn't say he would be upset if she did.

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Rosette slipped down the stairs, listening as Chrono hooked Ella's leash onto her collar and took her out for a walk. Good. He was preoccupied and hadn't picked up her aura. That was lucky, but then, who knew what was running through his head. He was a strange guy, and she liked him that way. She went into the kitchen, pausing as she noticed the papers there. Odd. He usually didn't leave papers out, but usually there were kids waiting to tear them up. Carefully, she picked up the sheets, her eyes scanning the much scribbled on music as she went into the basement and sat at the piano, tentatively poking the first note, squinting at the scrawling, trying to pick out the melody and the words from between the multiple crossed out lines and additions in the margins.

"When you got to the gates...," she squinted, her fingers stumbling over the notes. "What did they say? What did they say?. -WHAT THE HELL is this? Gah" She shook her head, trying to find the next part. "Start over."

"they said: "What you trying to prove- you're gonna give us away!"

Making those sounds down on the ground, that no place-

trying to find the time for you to give it up,

maybe stumble and fall, under the weight..."

"Scotty, there comes a day, where we begin again,

we begin again, we begin again,

and you'll recognize it then, you'll recognize it then,

you can feel it in your face, you can feel it in your step,

you can feel it in your veins, you'll recognize the end

and then begin again.

"And then floating on your back, what did you see? What did you see?

Did you dive too deep, like you always did?

And when you made your move, did the wolf move too? Did she breath you in?

We tried to figure out it when your lungs filled up

with that Memphis blue muck, did you still sing on? Did you still sing:

"Scotty there comes a day where we all begin again,

we begin again, we begin again,

and you'll recognize it then, will I recognize you then?

Will I feel it in the face? See it in the step? Could I hear it in the veins?

Could I communicate it then? Could I communicate the grace?

could I bring it in? Could I bring it out?

Only in my dreams, I'm just a selfish little kid, to ready to recieve,

more ready to give in than to begin again."

"This is nowhere good enough.

"This is nowhere close enough.

"This is nowhere pure enough.

"This is nowhere good enough." she sat back, studying the music. It was definitely not one for the top 20, that was for sure, but it had a weird... charm of its own.

"Whew! Alright Ella, in you go." Rosette jumped, glancing at the clock. Shit! Eleven! Chrono was back. She leapt to her feet. She'd wanted to surprise him! Hiding place- hiding place! She needed to find a hiding place! The couch! Swiftly, she dove behind it as Chrono clattered down the stairs.

"Come on Ella, it's time for bed. Hey." Rosette held her breath, hearing him stop by the piano. Judging by the rustle, he'd just picked up the papers. "What're these doing down here?" she grinned, feeling his growing confusion. "Oh well." Whew. That meant he- she dropped her head to the wall as the piano plunked out a note, then another. Damn! This was not the time to be playing music! It was eleven o'clock at night! Plink. Darn. She was getting a cramp, sitting like this! It was driving her nuts!

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Alright, he was officially beat. After running around with Ella, his legs were going to fall off. This was not a time to be looking at music. Carefully, he folded the sheets and tucked them into the folder on top of the piano, rubbing its shiny finish. He hadn't ever used it as much as he had in the past month with Rosette. Poor old thing was probably as tired as he was.

Twinge. He paused, standing by his door. He could've sworn he felt her aura.

Twinge.

"Ok, I'm going to bed." Obviously, working twelve hours in a psychic store was not good for a person, esecially since there was no one here to hear him except the dog...ug, that was depressing.

Twinge. He stretched out on the sleeping bag, a shiver running down his back.

What? Another twinge wriggled into the amplifier, ice locking his lungs.

NO! The twinge drove deeper, turning to a shudder and a burn; a stab, wrenching its way through him. Black spots clouded his already blurry vision. He curled into a ball, forcing himself to breath. It was ok, it was ok. This had happened a million times-

"_We did it!" Rosette threw her arms around him. "We did it! Oh, you were wonderful!_

"_No, you were the star of the show, hands down."_

"_Rosette! Awesome job! You too D'Crusa!"_

"_Definitely better than I would've." They looked up as Brad came in. _

"_You still should've-"_

"_Naw. My old man had to pay to get me in. I refuse to play his games, hey D'Crusa!" Rosette smiled as Brad gave Chrono a light punch in the shoulder. "Good one man."_

"_I'm going to get changed, alright guys?" Humming "An unlikely Story", she went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her as she puller her habit over her head._

"_Hello, Rosette." she turned in surprise, her eyes widening as arms swooped around her, his lips crashing over hers._

"No!"_ He heard the scream and tried to force his way through the door. Damn it! Rosette! He got the door open, then-_ Someone was shaking him.

"Chrono!" It sounded like Rosette, but she was far away, in Mikolin. "Chrono!" So far away…

Rosette...

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"Chrono!" Rosette knelt next to the sleeping bag, shaking his shoulders. "CHRONO!" he mumbled something, but she couldn't hear. Dammit! This was NOT what she'd been expecting! Then again, with Chrono, you never _were_ sure what to expect- expectations seemed to fall away whenever he was around. Or maybe when she was around him. It was hard to say. "Chrono." She frowned as he rolled over, his aura flaring out to it's normal size again instead of hugging close to him, the black of the amplifier fading. Well. Was he ok then? For now? Was he?

All that awaited them was tomorrow.

And that was just how she wanted it to be!

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A/N: well, there's the next chapter. Chapter 68's done! Yay! But it won't get posted for another two weeks from last Tuesday (It's now Thursday the…uh…4th. I think) …pout…WAIT! That means it'll be posted on my birthday! Yay! Erg….but I don't wanna wait! It's so hard to! However, I have to keep going and if posting once a week is the only way to get this out every week without running out during exams, well…If I create more than I need or manage to finish it, then we'll see. I might just post it all! Toodles.

A/N, Jan 16, 2007(Sweet 16 baby!): hey guys! It's me. I may not be able to update next week- that's exam week and I kinda need to study- a lot!! I did try to get the 69th chapter done, I really, really did- in fact, I DID finish it...three times...but then I decided what I had written for chapter 70 REALLY would be better with chapter 69, and now I realize that the reason I didn't/ don't like that chapter is because x-character is ooc, and I'm TRYING (Honest to goodness I am) to keep them in character, although I do mess up frequently- it's a learning process people! Laughs sheepishly So yeah, they may not be a chapter next week. I depends on how much time I get to write...or if I write, how much I concentrate.

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	69. A Morning with News

A/N: I'm writing this author's note on Jan. 4th. When I finish the chapter, I don't know what day it will be. Anyway. I have no idea. Maybe by the time I post this chapter, I'll know what I wanted to put in the author's notes, but for now, after writing so many chapters in a row without any really breaks…I'm kinda at a loss for what to say! Sorry. This is the 69th chapter of NTNP. I can't believe how long this has gotten! I know I keep saying that, but I can't help it! It's a big deal to me! I keep forgetting to put the chapters on the long file. I think only up to 59 are there, so I should just go do that. Shrug I will. Eventually. -

A/N: Jan. 9th, 2007. To be posted…some time, possibly during exams (wish me luck! I'll need it!). Good luck to anyone else who has exams! We all know their hard, but hey, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and a positive attitude goes a long way…as long as you study!

**A note to Little Miss Pissed Off:** Thank you for pointing out that my grammar needs work: I'll try to improve it… If you see anything in any chapter, please feel free to point it out! Constructive criticism is always welcome because I want to be a better writer. (In my own defence, I am human and I do miss things when I go through the chapter, but please, be ruthless. I'll remember it better next time!)

Just a note! Originally, this was two short chapters, chapter 69 and chapter 70. There're two author's notes here because I took the notes from both chapters.

Disclaimer: I just own Bridges. Not Chrono Crusade. 50 years after I die, I won't own Bridges either. But then, by that point, I don't think it will really matter, as money and fame are of no use once you die.

-------------------Chapter 69-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Golden swallowed, wrinkling her nose against the thick demonic fog. How long would it take Grey to decide? And what would he decide? They had a job to do, and that came before both of their lives, but if Grey wanted to protect her, who knew what he would do!_

_"Well then Golden. It appears your knight in shining clouds has returned." Superior smirked. "But what's this? He's not alone?" Golden groaned. Gre-ey! "Ah! My Lord. What a pleasant surprise." Superior purred. _

_"Superior. You seem be enjoying your strength." HE came in, his robes shimmering across the floor, dispelling any of Genai's aura that dared enter His space. Superior knelt down blank faced and bent his forehead to the floor._

_"I do only my job, Lord." he said softly, his hair a cascade of silver on the flagstones. "If we are to reunite Time and his human, the demon and human, we must be careful. This girl, and that angel who stands beside you, have insisted on interfering in the name of making this work. However, my liege, it is such interferences that have caused Time to have another vision, thus shortening his life even more." Grey scowled. _

_"That's a lie, sir-" God held up his hand, his eyes probing each face with a chilling calm._

_"My children, you squabble much, when really, there is no need." The Lord lifted his head, hair fanning about his face, ranging in shade from white to ebony, always changing. "Grey and Golden." He turned to the two younger angels. "I told you before, did I not, that interference is not required, for it poses the chance of being detrimental to our objective. Chrono is an angel. He has an angel's powers, a human's pig headed determination and a demon's resilience. We don't need them together to create a bridge of all three forms: Chrono is that bridge. However, it is only for Rosette that he becomes the bridge: he who opened the gates of heaven to mortals. Grey; Golden. Come with me, my children." Superior stepped aside, allowing the Lord to pass him and take Golden's hand. "Come."_

_"B-Boss?" Genai asked as the door swung shut with a bang. "Shouldn't we stop them? I mean, what about the plan?"_

_"Don't you worry about that." Superior rose to his feet, brushing dust from his white robes. "I grow weary of bowing, Genai. However, God has just taken care of two of our problems, Genai._

_----------------------------------------Still with the angels--------------------------------------------------------------_

_They trotted through Purity, the capital of Heaven, climbing the stairs to the Seat of Skies. Here, the Lord sat, resting his hands on the arms of his throne, eyeing the two young angels before him._

_"My- my lord-" Grey began, but stilled when His hand lifted._

_"I told you, during the fire, that Chrono and Rosette need little help, when it comes to creating the bridge."_

_"But Superior isn't interested in that!" Golden objected, barely remembering to remain bowed. "He wishes only for revenge on Time for-"_

_"Golden." The Lord stood, his eyes flashing. "Child, that is between Superior and Time, and it will be resolved when it will. That is not of import right now! You continued to interfere, when really, it wasn't necessary."_

_"Isn't necessary!" Golden shrieked, leaping up. Grey groaned, covering his eyes. "Sir, Chrono is DIEING! He won't exist after this! His time is gone! He'll cease to exist, and then what will we do?"_

_"That has already been taken care of by Samantha. Now, you two, I'm afraid I can't have you interfering anymore."_

_"Wha-"_

_"We won't sir!" Grey interrupted, glaring at Golden. The Lord smiled._

_"No, children, you will not." he gestured with a glowing hand towards a huge polished wood door with a smooth silver handle. "You're destination lies beyond that gate. Do enter."_

_"What?" Grey stood slowly, ignoring Golden's protests. "But that's the way to Earth!"_

_"Indeed. Your job in the Heaven's is done, Golden. You've done more than enough."_

_"But what about Superior! And you can't mean that we will get another chance-"_

_"No. This remains as Chrono's last chance." Grey put his hand on the knob, glancing over his shoulder as God walked the still arguing Golden over, his arm about her stiffened shoulders. "In you go Grey."_

_"Grey don't!" Grey bowed his head and stepped through the doors, holding his breath as he plunged through the painless but tearing brambles. The branches prodded and tore, but he felt nothing, not even as his wings were ripped from his back. _

_God smiled as the door shut behind the two angels. They had indeed done their job._

_Now it was **their** second chance. _

_Far below heaven, on the plains of earth, the wail of Newborn children was lost in the honking and blaring of traffic._

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Chrono opened his eyes, shivering, glancing at the clock.

4:30. Christmas morning. His head was killing him. Could heads get charged for murder?

"Mmnnn." He yawned, rolling over onto cold floor. "Urg! Rosette, move over will you?" he grumbled, trying to tug a scrap of the blanket out from under the snoring girl and not freeze. Man, why was he so tired? He'd done longer shifts than he had yesterday and still managed to get up in the morning- sassafras! Why did Rosette have to hog all the blankets?- On the other hand, he could probably get up because he had to get the kids and Rosette up. Now that they were gone…he gave up on the blanket and pressed his back to Rosette's. There. That was warmer.

Warmer?

Blankets being hogged?

Rosette?

Quickly, he rolled over, trying to slow the excitement that lashed through him, staring at the tousled hair glowing on the pillow. Carefully picking up a strand, he sniffed it, felt it. Yep, it was real; it was hers. Still shivering, he sat up, closing his eyes. He had to be asleep. Had to be.

He cracked an eye open.

He was still sitting on the floor, his back to the wall.

He was still freezing.

Rosette was still sound asleep. He considered waking her up but decided against it.There were more important things to do. Like reclaiming blankets.

The next time he woke, sunlight was streaming -somewhat filtered- through the muddy window, painting the floor around them with lacy Christmas rays.

'Them'? He blinked, snapping awake as he looked over at Rosette, meeting her eyes.

"Good morning." she whispered, yanking him firmly from the land of sleep. The land of insanity, however, seeing as she couldn't possibly be here, was rather imminent.

"G-good- er- Merry Christmas isn't it?" Had he passed out again? Maybe that was it. Sassafras! That meant school had started, and that the kids were back- and why-

Bonk.

"Chrono you stupid idiot! It's Christmas morning!" Ow.

That _hurt_.

"You're really here!" He lunged over and hugged her; pressing his face into her hair just to feel it tickle his cheeks. She was here! She was really, really here! He was overreacting; he didn't care! She was _here_! "How the sassafras did you..?" he took a deep breath, shutting his eyes.

Rosette gasped as his arms hauled her over against his flailing heart. Something wet dropped into her hair, and she looked up as he looked away red-faced.

Whack! Whack, whack, whack!

"Ow!"

"Don't- don't(Whack) surprise me like that,(whack) idiot! I took a plane. And I didn't run away." she tried to ignore the squeak that had slipped into her voice, tucking her hair behind her (reddening) ears. She'd made it home in time for Christmas!

Christmas! Right! "Er- I'm going to the bathroom!" grinning at the confusion on his face, she charged into the hall and pounded up the stairs to her room, throwing open the closet door with a bang. She'd made it! Now. Where had she put it? She'd been here maybe a day, so she couldn't have lost it that quickly! She paused by the mirror, realizing she was still wearing her clothes from yesterday, her hair was tangled around her shoulders- her fingers wrapped around the pendent hanging from her neck. That could all wait.

Ah-ha! She'd found it!

When she came back up from the basement, the smell of pancakes was already streaming up the windows.

"It snowed during the night." She followed his finger to the snow lit window. "According to the radio, the airport had to shut down. You're lucky to have made it in."

"Indeed." she smiled to herself, chopping up a pair of apples. "Very lucky. Looks like a white Christmas after all. I was worried when I came in yesterday."

"So that was your aura I was feeling?"

"I was hiding behind the couch when you sat down to play the stupid piano at eleven at night!" they laughed, flipping pancakes as the radio muttered in the background about mainland scandals.

"You want molasses?"

"Butter's fine." he handed her a huge plateful, settling with three for himself. "Youwr nawt ea- gulp- eating much." he shrugged, pushing his glasses up.

"I'm just not hungry, that's all." his eyes still seemed glued to her. She smiled.

"Relax, will you?" she snagged one of his pancakes and stuffed it in her mouth.

"Rosette!" a finger wiped a drop of syrup from her lip, sending heat to both their faces. "You haven't changed."

Neither had the way smiles crinkled the corner of his eyes! She noticed as he shifted back, his face scarlet.

Whack.

"So!" she laughed loudly, carrying her plate to the counter. "Did you miss me?" it was a stupid question. She'd felt it when he'd first waked, his eyes latching onto her as if he was trying to memorize every line. Maybe he was. She felt like she was trying to commit every little movement of his to memory.

This was stupid.

Bonk!

"Alright! Come on you, you have to open your Christmas present!" She really ought to stop hitting him like that. He was going to get brain damage.

"My what-" Rosette grabbed him by his thin arm, dragging him into the basement.

"Your present." she said as she charged them down the stairs. "I couldn't come home for Christmas and not get you something special. Not on our first Christmas together!" Her free hand, the one that wasn't cutting off the blood to his hand, wrapped around the fine silver chain.

"You mean you being here-"

"Here you go!" she shoved him into the living room, blocking the door. "I hope- well, just open the damn thing!" his face went red again.

"Al-alright." he walked over to where the present sat, brightly wrapped in blue, red and green paper. "Rosette, it's huge." Please like it! She squeezed her eyes shut, crossing her fingers, listening as he undid the tape. And pulled down a little of the rustling paper-

"**Geez, are you always so slow with this sort of thing**?! Hurry up!" Her heart seemed to have drunk too much coffee, or it was over the speed limit. It was driving her insane! She sat at the piano, folding her hands in her lap…then tapping her leg…then twisting the hem of her sleeve. She looked up in surprise at the smothered gasp. His hand rested on the box, dropping the paper to the floor. That was the only sound he made. "Chrono?" She crept over, heart sinking as he said nothing, his shoulders shaking.

Oh hell.

"Chrono, if you don't like it, it's ok. I can get you something else." his legs buckled and he thumped to the small coffee table, his hands pressed over his mouth. "Chrono?" he twisted away, ducking his head so she couldn't see his face. "I'm sorry- I thought- I- well dammit! I was sure-" she paced to the wall and back. Dammit! She'd been so sure he'd like this! "Look, I'm sorry, I was-"

"Thank you." the breathless words turned her. Chrono looked up at her from the floor by the couch, his hands smoothing the satin finish on the guitar. "Thank you." his cheeks, red again, glittered slightly and he hid his face from her again.

Whap. How many times had that been today? She'd lost count.

"Stupid! Presents aren't supposed to make you cry! And boys aren't supposed to cry, remember?"

"Girls aren't supposed to fight. Demon's aren't supposed to care, angels don't love demons."

"Good point." he was still shaking.

"It won't bite, idiot." she glared at the wall, wishing for one of the kids to burst in. It was so weirdly quiet.

Plink. She jumped, having hit the piano with her elbow.

Thm! The guitar echoed her note.

Plink-plink.

Thrum thm thm.

"Show off."  
"Rise and shine"

I'm already awake, idiot!"

"Wake up your sleepy head"

"What-" his back was to her, but the strings peeped out another shy chord, matching his tentative voice. She'd never heard him sound so shy.  
"Cause now it's time to leave your cosy bed as the dawn is waking  
Your adventure is waiting" his voice rose, nervous and a little shy, but stronger.

"Walking hand in hand  
Out of Christmas time and into wonderland  
With your best friend  
Your dream has just come true  
And won't believe it's you  
It's happening too  
You're lost in the snow" he turned, his eyes latching onto her face like a child to it's mother hand. Except that now she was falling! His lips quirked, sensing the thought.

"As night time falls  
You cry in your darkest fear  
You think you've lost your friend who will dry your tears  
But a new life is dawning, and a new day calling

Walking hand in hand  
Out of Christmas time and into wonderland  
With your best friend  
Your dream has just come true  
And you can't believe it's you  
That holds a dream  
You're lost in the snow  
You're lost in the snow

Told you feel lost without hurt  
Soon the night time will be over

And you'll be walking hand in hand  
Out of Christmas time and into wonderland  
With your best friend  
Your dream has just come true  
And you won't believe it's you  
It's happening too  
You're lost in the snow  
You're lost in the snow"

"Is that a request for a walk?" Rosette folded her arms, grinning. He shook his head until Ella started to whine.

"It wasn't, but I think that was." he chuckled, grabbing her hand. "Let's go then." Laughing, they followed Ella to the front door.

"Where'd Heather anyway?" Rosette asked suddenly. "I haven't seen her."

"Still asleep. She's like that. Works 'til all hours then sleeps twice as long."

"What's she doing?"

"I don't know." he paused, frowning, leaning against the door jam to tie his laces. "Every time I would go near her study-" he pointed to the room across from the living room. "She starts screaming at me to get out and quit bugging her when she's trying to work."

"Really? I never thought of Heather as the screaming type."

"Neither did I." He stretched, locking the door behind him as Ella hauled Rosette up the street. "Eh! Ella! Hold up there girl!" Rosette turned, sticking out her tongue as he jogged after them, loping up the hill.

"Hurry up Chrono!" she yelled as Ella tugged at the leash. "Come on!"

Chrono smiled, watching the pair grow as he drew closer, slipping and sliding in the fresh snow. "Slow poke." Rosette grumbling, swiping at him.

"True. But that's ok sometimes." He raised his eyes to the sky, burning blue above them, pushing the clouds away to reveal a clear, beautiful day beyond the snow and twinkling lights.

"Unless you get left behind, stupid." Rosette took his hand, dragging him along behind her. "That's why we're a good pa- um, good frien-arg!- I make you speed up when you lag behind!" she swore, her face turning the same colour as her crimson jacket.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe I make _you_ slow down. And pair is fine." they stood on the hill, looking out over the area, tucked in its blankets of snow and Christmas joy.

"I didn't really take time to look at the lights, yesterday." Rosette said softly.

"We can go out tonight, and look at them if you like. They look prettiest then."

"Won't they all be taken down?"

"On Christmas day? Are you nuts? Many people leave theirs up until old Christmas day. You have lot of time to see them!"

"They leave them up that long?" He nodded.

"Yup. It's definitely one of the nice things about Christmas here. Not my favourite, but fairly high up on the list."

"What's your favourite?" Chrono raised an eyebrow.

"You have to guess? The thing I love about Christmas is...what?" he asked, holding up her hand as if to inspect it. Then his lips quirked upwards, smiling- freezing her lungs at the same time.

Whack.

"Of course I don't, stupid!" she tried to scowl, but…

It's really hard to scowl on Christmas.

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"So what do you want to eat?" Chrono asked, rubbing the slush and water from Ella's huge paws. Whack.

"Who says I'm hungry!" Rosette snapped, her stomach growling again. "How about something easy, like peanut butter?" He snapped his fingers, leaping up.

"Haha! I know!"

"Chrono!" she ran after him into the kitchen as he started rummaging through the cupboards, pulling out bread, peanut butter- MARSHMALLOWS?-chocolate- "Chrono, what the hell mmf!" A very gooey marshmallow found its way into her mouth. "Mmf!" She swallowed. Whap! "Idiot!" He merely grinned, knocking on the study door.

"Heather? Do you want-"

"CHRONO! I TOLD YOU BEFORE, you stupid brat, LEAVE ME ALONE! I'M TRYING TO WORK ON THIS CASE!" He recoiled as a blast of hot-tempered aura flooded through the closed door.

"Guess not," he shrugged. "Should've figured- ah- Rosette?" Rosette stood for a moment, staring at the chipped white paint on the door. "Rosette-"

BAM!

"HEATHER D'CRUSA OR WHATEVER YOU SAID YOU NAME IS, OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR NOW AND COME EAT! IT'S CHRISTMAS, STUPID! YOU DIDN'T COME AND GET ME JUST SO YOU COULD SULK IN YOUR ROOM!"

"I'M GIVING YOU TIME TO YOURSELVES! NOW SHUT UP AND GO AWAY!"

"WHAT, ARE YOU ON PMS? GET YOUR BUTT OUT HERE AND EAT!"

"I SAID: LEAVE ME ALONE! THIS CASE IS GOING TO BE GOING FULL FLEDGED SOON AND I NEED TO BE READY!"

"BULL! STOP BEING PIG HEADED!" Chrono dropped his suddenly pounding head to the counter, groaning. Why was he not surprised? Rosette couldn't possibly be happy unless she was fighting with someone.

"Rosette-" the beeper on the stove went off. "Rosette, lunch is ready. You can't make her eat if she doesn't want-"

"Ah ha! You're brilliant Chrono!" he blanched as she raced over, a maniacal grin splitting her face, and grabbed a piece of peanut-choco-marshmallow toast.

"_He-ather!" _Chrono sighed and sat down at the table, hand over his eyes. How could he have fallen so hard for such a-

Heather's scream of rage rocked out from the study, followed by Rosette as Heather chased her out, peanut butter dripping from her clothing- well, pyjamas.

"Chrono!" Heather hissed, her eyes flashing. "I managed to get your girlfriend back for Christmas! Now. Will. You. Please. Tell. Her. To. Leavemealone!" Rosette grinned, dancing over so Chrono was between them.

"Whaaat? You think if he told me to leave you alone, I would listen?" Chrono blushed as she laughed, yanking on his braid. "Nice one, Heath, but it's not going to go through."

"AND now, for our local interest report."

"Aw fruits o' fucking temptation!" Heather swore; running into the study as the small TV flickered to a newscast. "Rosette you dolt!"

"Dolt!" Rosette shrieked, leaping after her.

Chrono stiffened, a prickle running down his back. "Rosette! Shush!" he warned, following Heather into the study.

"Hey! That's the local News from-"

"Shaddup!" Heather barked, eyes glued to the pale, blubbery-skinned man on the screen as he pointed to a picture.

Rosette blinked.

And looked.

"The hell! Tha-"

"An update on the situation between Mr. Vincent Christov, Aion Castov- heir to the Castov empire- and the rumours that have sprung up about them, Mr. Christov's only child: Miss Rosette Christov and Mr. Castov's younger- relation, Mr. Chrono D'Crusa. Apparently, on a plane from St. John's, Newfoundland -where she had been staying to participate in the Real Life project- Miss Rosette, in a conversation about her current boyfriend, Mr. D'Crusa, let it slip that he had been "harmed" by practices in Mr. Christov's lab where he had been placed at a young age so his…abnormalities could be tested." She- that was-

Oh frigging hell. She staggered to the bed on liquid legs and dropped down next to Chrono, trying not to look at his white face.

"Mr. D'Crusa, now 16, has been known to gossip columns as Aion Castov's younger, womanizing brother, father of at least six children between the ages of four and 10 years of age. Now, looking at the ages, of the 'father' and the children, it becomes apparent that it is physically impossible for the younger brother to be the sire. According to the comments made by Rosette Christov, it was not Chrono who sired the children he's raising, but Aion Castov himself! Over to you, Lena." A screen popped up with a dark haired, very thin woman sitting at a desk, several pictures- six, actually- of women, all holding children.

"Yes, apparently, Aion Castov of Dayline news and the son of the prestigious Castov Empire, is the father of six children, none of whom he's taken responsibility for, instead allowing the 'credit' to be passed on to his younger, relation Mr. D'Crusa, who has been raising them for the past two years. However, since this revelation has occurred, thanks to Ms. Rosette Christov, we can expect custody of the children to return, quite safely, back into the hands of the mothers, Ms. Jane Lindrew, Ms. Kate Valentine, Ms, Gala McGuire, Ms. Emile Hartsdale, Ms. Donna Lockland and Grettalline Trendulska. Now, over to you Jack, for the weather."

"Thank you Lena. There will be a front moving-"

"Ug! Idiots!" Heather grumbled, turning the TV off with her toe. "I don't believe it! This could be a huge story and they're labelling it human interests. Damn." she ran a hand over her face, glancing back at them. "A full week's work gone to waste."

"Yeah?" Chrono chewed on his fingernail, tapping his hand on the heavy wooden desk. "Well, it could be worse, I suppose." he shrugged, standing. "So, Rosette. What do you want to do today?"

Whap.

"You're changing the subject!"

"I know. What do you want to do today?"

"You don't have the gift of subtlety, do you?" Chrono laughed.

"I guess we need a potato peeler if we're going to have that discussion again." He warned.

"Mmm…I guess it isn't really relevant now, is it?" Heather shook her head as they bickered their way from the room.

Had she been wrong to try and get this out? Getting Bianca's help, and explaining the situation to Mrs. Christov hadn't been easy, although Mrs. Christov was well and ready to help. Still. They had to expose the Castovs and the Christovs, didn't they? She looked out the window, watching the twosome throwing snowballs. She was doing the right thing…

Wasn't she? If this continued, who knew what the outcome would be, and they -Chrono and Rosette- would become the Romeo and Juliet's of the story.

Was it worth that much to them?

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A/N: Dundundaaa! So much for a peaceful Christmas! Um…Well, I'm sure most of you have a basic idea of Romeo and Juliet- two lovers from opposite families, blah blah blah…hey! (Sorry, favourite comparison) Chrono crusade is a lot like Romeo and Juliet! 1st, the names:

Chrono-Romeo, Rosette-Juliet. - Then, it's a story about lover from opposite 'families' - in Chrono crusade's case, humans vs. demons. And, the main (star crossed) lovers die in the end. (Sniffle, sniffle).

Actually, in the original plan for this story, I was going to have them perform Romeo and Juliet, and then have Rosette and Chrono remember their past life through the symbolic similarities, but…well, you can see where that went! Mainly because symbolism is a tricky thing to write because many people don't notice it- Sneko waves hands Like me! Me! I'm one of the one's who totally misses the point of the symbol!! And she- points to McB is a FAILURE to all writers! ENGLISH is her worst subject!! English!

McB: Blushing furiously Hey! Give me a break! I studied for hours yesterday for my English exam, and I'll be studying more as the week continues!

Sneko: Tough…- I get to wri-ite while you-u stu-dy!

McB: Glinty glasses Yeah? Well, while I'M deciphering _symbolism_-

Sneko: which she can barely spell!

McB: Anger veins appear then YOU Sneko, will be writing comparison essays!

Sneko: WHAT?! N-no way! I'm a fiction kitty! I don't DO essays!

McB: 30 of the exam.

Sneko: that's insane!

McB: that's why we're writing NTNP chapters ahead of time: so you can PRACTICE writing essays!

Sneko: Begins to cry and tugs pleadingly at McB's sleeve McB! McB, _pleeeeeaaaaasssseeee_ don't make me write the essay! Mrs. Wonderful-Amazing Loves-our-Language sensei said that the reason you had trouble writing essays was because you do creative writing! Thus, I can't write the essay, McB. Sneko stands and looks McB squarely in the eye, straitening her shoulders McB, dramatic sigh YOU must be the one to write the essay! Only you have the -uh- the gumption to sit down and practice writing essays for hours at a time just so you can get that honours mark. You are the only one of us brave enough to- to get in there and write about a book you HATE! You-

McB: Alright! I get the picture! smiles and turns to walk away.

Sneko: waves have fu-un! Grins and turns back to computer Now, where was I… Hand grabs shoulder GAAAH!

McB: Let's go, Kitty-cat, you have an essay to practice!

Sneko: Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

McB: oh yeah! The song Chrono sings in this chapter, _Lost in the Snow_ is by Russell Watson! Tata! Time to STUDY!


	70. Parents

A/N, Jan. 17. 07: I'm being a bad girl and starting this chapter. I only have a few minutes left on the computer before I won't be able to write for DAYS (It's going to be murder). I'm alright. By the time it's time to post this, exams will be over. Oh! That's a cheering though, isn't it! That's only two weeks away...- Right then! Anyway, this is my last writing spell for a while, and I'll have to walk the dog now... so much for trying to get as much done as possible! Laughs Wow...stares out the window. that's a lot of snow. The roads look slippery. Oh! Maybe school will be cancelled...no wait...it was snowing yesterday and the roads were covered and they STILL didn't cancel...guess I'm out of luck. Ah well.

Jan 30! Whoo! Exams are over, and I tried snowboarding for the first time yesterday...SPLAT! It was so fun! Eventually I figured out how to do it...but not on big hills. Not yet. It was supposed to snow today...but it hasn't. Ah well.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade.

----------------------------------------------chapter 70---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So what do you plan to do?" Aion squinted at Vincent's back, black against the huge picture windows bogged down in slush.

"I'm not sure." Vincent growled, pacing, stroking his beard. "If I go and get the wench, then human interests will pick it up and call me a swine. But more importantly, my labs are running the risk of being searched. I can't afford to leave. And you?"

"My bastard brother doesn't have the brats right now, but they're trying to go back as it is. The bitches are riling their forces. Already I've been taken off the play committee for Rosette's school...a pity." Aion shrugged delicately. "On the other hand, the play will be a flop on national television. As for me...I suppose I'll ride this out. It's nothing too bad."

"Gah." Vincent banged on the desk. "Speak for yourself man!"

"I'm not the one with the illegal lab, am I? No, Vincent, that's your problem."

"It's your brother." Vincent growled. "Your half of this is intimately connected to this- as is your future."

"Perhaps." Aion strode to the door. "But...my plans have nothing to do with this. I can survive elsewhere, as can you. What will you do about Rosette?" Vincent snorted.

"That wench can stay with her pathetic little friend for now. I don't care. If she's happy there, she might keep quiet long enough for me to weather this over. You are-" the door slammed shut, booming through the sprawling house. "-dismissed. Fool." Vincent turned, surveying the path that lead from the house over to the lab's hulking white sides. He'd cleared all the projects to a separate lab, one in Europe, and he would follow them as soon as this was through- he couldn't run now, could he?

Fools. He wouldn't get into trouble.

His name wasn't Vincent Christov because he was an idiot.

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"Hah! That's thirty-nine to your thirty-three!" She crowed, tossing another snowball from hand to hand as Chrono ducked around to the side of the house. "One more and I wi-"

SPLAT! "Why you!" Rosette screeched in rage as a flurry of snowballs pelted from around the house. Smiling cheerfully, Chrono stepped out of the shelter of the rose bush and tossed one more handful of snow to land with a plop on her head.

"Forty."

"Chrono!" He laughed, running from her outraged volley until she gave up throwing snowballs and chased after him herself. "I'm going to kill you!" Thump! She tackled him into a snowdrift and shoved a handful of snow down his collar.

"Arg! Rosette! That's _cold_!"

"Its snow, stupid!" she shoved another handful into his face. "Take that!"

"I don't think so!" a mirroring handful landed on her face. Ten minutes later, panting and covered in snow, they gave up, flopping into the last unmarred drift in the yard.

"T-truce?" Chrono wheezed, his glasses fogged up so much she couldn't see his eyes.

"Truce." Rosette agreed, wiping melting slush from her dripping face. "But only because you surrendered."

"Surrendered! I think not, fair dragon!"

"Oh? And what are you? A knight?"

"Perhaps."

"Where's your damsel in distress?" carefully, she rolled over, trying to scrounge up enough snow for a weapon.

"Perhaps the dragon ate her; perhaps, the dragon is the damsel! Yah!" he grabbed her, pinning her (gently) to the ground and tickling her sopping sides.  
"Chr-Chrono yo- haha- idiot! Erg!" she laughed as his deft fingers poked mercilessly at that stupid place on her side- oh sassafras! She'd lost no doubt about it…

But she wasn't willing to go down that easily.

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"They seem to be enjoying themselves." Ewan noted, strolling into the kitchen.

"Indeed." Heather sniffed. "But I don't understand what the fun of- of- she pointed to the snowball/wrestling/tickle fight that had ensued below. "that."

"Oh, I don't know." Kate shrugged, watching as Nina raced down to join her 'aunt' and uncle.

"I didn't know all three of you were coming over. Don't you have…plans?" Heather eyed the ring that hugged tightly to Kate's finger, setting the teacher a-blush.

"Nina was adamant about coming over. She was afraid Chrono would be alone on Christmas." Kate settled at the table, her eyes glued to the window.

"Well, I doubt you have to worry about that now, do you?" Heather smirked as Nina joined into the match; her peals of laughter rising with their as both teenagers turned tickling fingers to her. Remington's hand linked lightly with Kate's.

"Hal-loo? Anyone home?" the front door burst open. "Chrono? Heather?"

"Ey! Crusander! You here?" Austy clomped snow off his boots as Shader bounded in.

"He's outsi-ide! And it's about ti-me!" Heather screeched as five kids charged past and tumbled out into the back yard.

"Oh! She's here! Rosette came!" Shader squealed as the group came into the kitchen, jostling up the steps. "Rosette! Uwah!"

"Whoa! Shader-" Rosette toppled backward onto Chrono with the force of Shader's enthusiastic greeting. A pale, black haired woman lifted an eyebrow, gliding into the room, smoothing her black mink collar.

"Chrono…D'Crusa, I presume?" she murmured. Chrono raked his dripping bangs from his face, briefly taking the slight hand she offered before she pulled it away with a forest green whisper of velvet and a tinkle of fine silver bracelets.

"Yeah- I mean, yes, I'm Ch-"

"Mother." Tawny straitened quickly, patting her hair and skirt flat as the woman's cream brow furrowed in frown. "Ah- Mother, this is my-"

"I have already gathered that much, Tawnania."

Tawny blushed, curtsying. "Uncle Chrono, this is-"

"Lady Tessinghold Milgrim." A towering man in a silk tuxedo marched over and set a willowy hand on the woman's shoulder, hugging her lightly to his side. "I am Lord Milgrim." Chrono bowed his head.

"I am honoured to meet you both." Their auras… he forced himself to smile, trying not to glance at the furiously blushing Tawny. Their auras were filthy, billowing clouds, pregnant with greed and desire, a stomach churning black similar to the colour that bled from the amplifier. Maybe that's where Christov got the energy for it to work.

"Indeed…" Milgrim sniffed, glancing around the (crowded) kitchen as the kids and Rosette dried off with the fluffy towels Chrono kept in a basket by the door. "Is this…your…"

"This is my home, sir. I run a boarding house. My usual tenants are at their homes for the holidays."

"This is where you have been raising Tawny? Tawny!" The girl froze at the top of the basement stairs as Milgrim turned. "Just where do you think you're going?"

"T-To my room, sir." she squeaked, her hands behind her back.

"In the basement like a common drudge? Really D'Crusa! Have you locked all of these- these children into the basement?"

"The basement is my apartment, sir." he tried to keep the growl out of his voice. "I wasn't expecting to have people sharing it with me, but yes, I lived in the basement with all six of them.

"We shared rooms." Marie said softly, creeping over and ducking her head under the green-fire stare of an elderly woman.

"You! Marie, Ee es a bad boy! Ee's family es bad end ee will be bad too! You hear that?" she shook her cane towards Rosette. "Ee es bad boy!"

"Grand-ma!" Marie tugged helplessly at the woman's thick sleeve. Chrono winced at the sight of her pale face. "Grandma, Chrono is nothing like Aion."

"Aion! Ee a bad man! Ee's brother es the same, I know this!"

"Madam, would you like something to drink?" he offered, pulling out a chair for her. "You must be tired."

"Ah! You no smooth talk me, you a bad man!" she screeched, her white hair flying from its bun, crackling under the fur-rimmed cap she donned. "Your brother a bad man- Ee no marry my daughter, but Ee leave little girl! Ar, Ee a bad man!"

"Ug. Look at this place." Tessinghold hissed to Milgrim, her tiny nose wrinkled as a woman stalked into the room followed by two more. "It's so…" she trailed off as Rosette passed by.

"This is nuts!" Rosette hissed, grabbing Chrono's hand as Marie's grandmother (Mrs. Leanne McGill) started to rant again.

"Yeah, well…I suppose I had to meet them sometime…"

"Ah- Are y-you Chrono?" a thin redhead peered up at him, sniffling. "I- I'm Jil- Jilly Tobin. You l-look nothing like your brother, you know." she looped her arm through his, shoving Rosette out of the way. "He was a very handsome man, Aion."

"Ri-ight." Rosette snorted, moving to Chrono's other side. "Was that why he dumped you with a kid?" Jilly stiffened, her green eyes filling with tears.

"No!" she whimpered. "NO! It was MY fault! All my fault!" she began to wail, lurching against Chrono. "All! My! Fault!"

"Er- Miss Tobin, of course-" He sputtered, but she continued to wail.

"All because I was too clingy! You don't think I'm too clingy, do you?" She howled, her hands latched on his sleeve. "Oh, I'm better now, please say he'll take me back!"

"I- I doubt that, Miss Tobin. And Aion- well he doesn't really- I mean to say-" they paused by the kitchen counter, and Chrono attempted to pry himself free with the distraction of a tissue. It didn't work.

"I'm still not- not worth it to him?"

"Miss, Aion doesn't care for anyone." Chrono said softly, trying to pat her back. Instantly, Jilly leapt back, her eyes flashing.

"In that case," she declared, pointing her soggy tissue at him. "You must marry me in his stead! Isn't that right daddy?" she peered adoringly at a rather short man with a thick moustache and balding head.

"WHAT!"

"N-now de-dear," Mr. Tobin warned, patting her arm. "I- I think Mr. D-D'Crus-sa has his o-own special someone-"

"But _Daddy!_" instantly, the wailing started again.

"Oh _Shut up!_" Rosette and a second female voice barked. Rosette looked up as a woman in Kaki pants and scuffed boots sailed towards them, her chip-nailed hand loosely around her bottle of water. "Dr. Carol Bell. I'm pleased to finally meet you, Mr. D'Crusa. Kye respects you greatly." she said, shaking Chrono's extended hand firmly in her tanned one before turning on Jilly. "Listen up, Jill. A woman doesn't need a man! Stand on your own two feet, girl. No man will fall for you if you're already at their feet!" Rosette grinned. This woman, with her explorer's vest and determination, was the exact opposite of Lady Milgrim and Jill. She'd probably argue with Ms. Valentine- or Mrs. Remington- though.

"Come on." She yanked Chrono from Jill's grasp and over to the refrigerator.

"Any ideas on what to get these people to eat." he hissed. "Thanks, by the way."

"Not the clue. The _Lady_ will probably want caviar, and I don't think we have that. And you're welcome." she accepted his quick peck on the cheek- they were in a room full of people after all- and waited as he riffled through the fridge.

"I can make humus. We have pita bread… put the oven on 150 degrees and cut these into little triangles. Eight per round.."

"Right." she took the pitas and went to the counter where Jilly was still staring open-mouthed at Carol, turning the oven on as she went past Mr. Remington and Lord Milgrim.

"No, no," Milgrim growled, dusting a speck of dust from his tux. "You see, the…" Remington nodded blandly at whatever he rattled off, staring mournfully over at Kate who smiled back. Rosette laughed. Teachers. Who knew? Her own gaze slipped back to Chrono as he started making the chickpea humus and a salad.

"Rosette, what're you doing?! Ooh! Are you cooking?! What're you making!?" Shader sniffed, bounding from side to side. "Ooh! Those're pitas!" She cheered, prancing over to Chrono as he came over and poking at the salad.

"What, pray tell, is that?" Rosette flinched as Lady Milgrim sauntered over, her arching eyebrows still lifted in that disgusting half-stare.

"It's humus." Chrono shrugged. "I wasn't expecting company today."

"One must always be prepared for company, Mr. D'Crusa. Always." the Lady chided, giving him a sharp tap across the cheek. "Why, even Tawnania can tell you that." He scowled as she floated away, welcoming Rosette's warm aura beside him.

"I bet 'Tawnania' could tell her a tad more than that." she growled, glaring after the woman. Chrono sighed.

"Apart from Carol and Ms. Valentine…"

"What es that?"

"Er- It's humus-"

"Eet es not food!" Mrs. McGill screeched, thumping her cane on the worn linoleum. "Eet es poison! Ou, c'est la norriture pour les petites enfants!"

"I didn't know you came from a French background, Mari-Mari." Chrono noted. Marie rolled her eyes, filling a cup with utensils.

"She just wants people to think that."

"Yeah…well, I wish I could say my parents were just pretending." Tawny muttered as she picked up the assortment of chipped mugs, casting a glower in their direction. "I wish I hadn't insisted on coming here."

"Really?" Chrono bent over, pushing her poor curled, moussed and teased bangs out of her round little face.

She nodded, lowering her eyes from his face. "They're being so mean to you and Rosette."

"Pshaw! Don't you worry about that Tawny. Or you Marie." Rosette grinned, tossing an apple up in the air and attempting to catch it. Chrono handed it to her, setting the humus down.

"I never said I was worried!" Marie snapped, her eyes flashing. "Tawny was talking about herself!"

"Really? Then why are you so quiet?"

"I-"

"I think there's some ice cream. You want to get the rest of the crowd?" Chrono whispered to Tawny, keeping his voice confidential. "If you can do that, without alerting the grownups, I'm sure the others and you two could sneak into the basement and leave the grownups to Rosette and I."

"Really! Right sir!" Tawny saluted before running off with Marie to find the rest of the kids.

"You love them, don't you?" Rosette smiled, squeezing his hand.

"They're my family." he smiled back. "We need plates. And ice cream. It's in the freezer."

"Right." She gave him a swat before strolling through the crowd, leaving Chrono to the last of the parents, a robust woman with long blond braids.

"He seems to be having fun." Mr. Remington noted wryly as he took a plate from her. "I don't know how this one came up."

"I guess all the kids had the same idea." she shrugged, glancing towards the Milgrims as they looked at the table, their noses wrinkled, and Jilly, as the woman let out another sniffle. "Snobs. And sooks."

"Indeed."

"Carol's rather nice." Ms. Valentine said, handing Mr. Remington a mug of coffee. "And Roberta isn't half bad- she's a teacher in B.C." Rosette nodded quickly, turning to leave them alone, but Mr. Remington caught her arm.

"Rosette. Thank you for coming back here, for Christmas."

"Stupid. Christmas-smismas. I'd've come back had it been February 31. Or even a Monday." She smiled weakly.

"You could get detention for calling a teacher stupid, you know." Kate warned, but her large brown eyes were warm.

"You know, Ms. Valentine, you're not as bad as you make yourself out to be at school." Rosette teased. The woman smiled back.

"You best watch yourself, missy. I can do more than give you detention now!"

"Oh? I'll bet you can't! After all, you're not my mother."

"No." Kate smiled, leaning easily against Ewan. "I'm not your mother. But there are ways, believe me."

"As if!" Rosette laughed, then waved to Chrono, who, despite having his back to her, waved back, setting a bowl of chopped carrots on the table to join the salad.

"He isn't vegetarian, I hope." Lady Milgrim moaned loudly, linking her arm through Lord Milgrim's. "I do so hate the taste of that- oh what's it called again? Toefood?"

"Tofu, I think you mean." Rosette growled, storming past them. "And we weren't expecting to have company over today."

"You weren't?" Lady Milgrim's eyes widened. "But what do you do on Christmas but have company over! Sulk in a corner?" her tinkley laugh rattled around the quiet kitchen. Rosette froze, halfway across the room, pairs and pairs of eyes turning her way.

"Sulk! Not me." she looked from person to person. "This is my first Christmas I haven't spent with my family, but then, this was the first year I've been away from them. I don't mind."

"You don't?" Jilly's wide eyes probed at her.

"No, I don't. Now, if you'll excuse us" she grabbed Chrono and hauled him towards the basement. "I think I heard a crash. We'll let you all have a nice chat." they clattered over the stairs.

"Well!" Lady Milgrim harrumphed. "How rude."

"And you don't think you're being rude?" Heather snorted, glaring at her. "I know I wanted to meet with all you, but really. It's Christmas day and the one time they-" she jerked a thumb towards the basement- "get a bit of time together. The least you could do is not pick on them."

"Well really!" Lord Milgrim snorted. "I had heard you wanted to get this going as soon as possible if we are going to call something up on Aion."

"I-"

"Wasn't it you who said 'If we don't act quickly, he'll buy himself free again'?" Roberta drawled, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. "So we must get started immediately."

"Aion es bad man. Ee must be punished, dates and children be damned!" Heather dunked a mug into the cold dishwater.

"Yes, he must be punished-"

"Aion and Chrono are brothers. Brother are brothers, the younger will be just like the older." Lady Milgrim huffed, tossed her hair.

"That's bull!"

"That's fact." she said firmly.

"It most certainly is not." Kate snapped, folding her arms. "Chrono is nothing like Aion. I should know, I've been teaching him for years and never even knew they were related, let alone brothers! There's no question that Aion is a bastard, but that's no reason to drag Chrono's name down too."

"Perhaps you don't see eet, but little brother ees as bad as older brother!" Mrs. McGill growled, waving her cane. "I see eet when ee looks at girl!"

"Just because Aion is-"

"Hey! Yeah, Aion let you all down, but just because Chrono loves Rosette doesn't mean he'll do the same to her, he-" Heather caught her next words back before she spat them out. Kate nodded, her lips pursed.

"Oh, don't be stupid about this!" Roberta muttered, taking a swig of beer. "Let's just get this all over with! None this business with Chrono applies to us. They can both go to hell as far as I'm concerned, the whole family included."

"Well excuse me for trying to help!"

"Well, I suppose we can excuse you- if you get on with things!"

"Look, this will take time! I've managed to get Aion removed from his place as news castor, and build up a case-"

"Look, we've got the brats, he raped us, what more do we need?"

"We can't just go gung ho into this! If we do, there's the risk that Aion will blame it on Chrono, like he has been!"

"That's what testimonies are for!"

"He'll come up with something! The Castov's aren't rich for nothing, you know!"

"Yeah, and that's why their son lives in this dump."

"It is not a dump!" Kate objected, but was cut off by Heather.

"He was kicked out-"

"Yeah, well, I'd only want one Aion in the family-" Roberta roared. "Who needs two! They both aught to be thrown in jail!"

"Hear hear!" Lord Milgrim cheered. "We'll get the whole lot of them out of the way!"

"I can't believe you people!" Kate yelled over the cheers. "My god, do you even hear yourselves!" Ewan put a hand on her shoulder.

"Easy."

"Oy!" Carol came over beside them, waving her arms. "Kate's right! Do you hear what you're saying? This is a 16 year old we're talking about. He hasn't done anything wrong except get stuck with the by-catch his brother threw his way!"

"Who cares how old he is." Tessinghold stomped her tiny foot. "He-"

"I will not proceed with this case," Heather said coldly, "If there is even the slightest chance Chrono is going to get dragged into it. I absolutely-"

"You can't mean that!"

"You were the one who brought up the idea!"

"Honestly woman!"

"Honestly is right!" Carol turned her head, glancing towards the basement door.

"Kate?" she nudged the other woman as Roberta went into another rant. "That sound." Kate blinked, hearing, just faintly, the soft calling of the piano over the din. "That's him playing, right?"

"You have not right to strip his dreams away to!"

"Aion stripped ours away!" Putting her finger to her lips, Kate lead Ewan and Carol into the basement, pausing by the lower living room door. Chrono was indeed at the piano, the six kids pressed tightly against his sides and legs as he played, the notes pounding out through the room, drowning out the noise from above. Carol nodded to Rosette who'd settled with her back to Chrono's. As quietly as they'd come down, they left them.

"They look more like a family than most of us do." Carol commented, eyeing Kate and Ewan. "Something's missing though."

"Safety." Kate growled. "Security. Mature adults, although apart from their ages, they'd already have that."

"Yeah." Below, the piano slipped from a classical piece into something upbeat, some song that the kids seemed to like, setting them bounding around the room. Heather looked up as they came in, smiling grimly.

"Alright, alright." she called, rapping on the table. "Kate? Can we go over to your house?"

"Not a problem. It's just next door. We can leave the kids here for now."

"Leave Tawnania here?" Lady Milgrim shuddered. "But she'll…"

"Be just fine." Ewan said coolly, opening the front door for her. "He raised her for months, M'lady, I'm sure she'll be fine."

"But- but I didn't know-" Heather sighed, shutting the door as the debate continued. Great. Just great.

"Hey. Don't worry." Carol clapped her on the shoulder. "We'll get this show back on the road and keep your little brother and his friend from getting dragged into the mess."

"Thanks…" Heather ran her fingers through her hair, lighting a cigarette and taking a drag, glaring at the mounds of city blackened slush. "I can't believe what a mess this is. We're lucky, in a way, for Chrono's sake, what with the Picton case coming up, but with Aion Castov involved…well, no matter what else is going on, it'll crop up. It doesn't help that the Christov's are in it too."

"I thought you were happy to get them on something." Carol said wryly. Heather winced.

"I was happy. I still am." she took another drag. "But…" she waved her cigarette towards the house, rubbing her eyes. "I don't know anymore. You deserve to have your child back-"

"I'm not sure about all of us." Carol muttered, watching The Milgrims. Heather staunched her cigarette in the snow, opening the door.

"True. And Chrono doesn't deserve to have that responsibility shoved on him. Not with so little time left…but then I watch them all together…" she bit her lip, hesitating a moment before charging into the kitchen, all buzz and energy. Carol smiled sadly at Kate.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"They're not back yet?" Rosette poked her head from the basement as she heard Chrono pushing the chairs back into place.

"No. They went over to Mr. Remington's."

"Are you going to put the kids to bed?" She carried over the plates and handed them to him one by one so he could wash them.

"They are already asleep."

"Yeah." Rosette yawned. "Can't say I blame them. You have work tomorrow?"

"Boxing day." He mirrored her yawn, shaking his bangs from his eyes before smiling. "I'm off until January second."

"I'm glad." They linked hands, slipping into the basement.

"Me too."

"That Milgrim Missus was a pill. And a bitch. I'm glad Tawny doesn't take after her."

"Yeah…" Chrono yawned again, dropping heavily onto the couch, tucking his feet up under him.

"You really are tired, aren't you." He nodded as she sat beside him, dropping his head onto her shoulder, eyes shut. "Here. C'mon Chrono, get up a minute will you! Geez! I'd say you're too heavy but you're too thin." He moved over, instead resting his head on the arm of the couch as she bounced around beside him, making the couch whimper. He couldn't really blame the poor thing. His own head felt very similar, aching, pounding… hands wormed over, nosing around his waist, pulling him over the other way until he landed softly, half on her lap.

He blinked fuzzily as a bit of silver glinted over his nose and his hand wandered up, playing with the locket, his thumb running over the floral design. It had been hard to find someone to make it, with the forget-me-nots. He still wasn't sure if Rosette had even liked it. He blinked slowly, having to drag his eyes back open. Rosette was here. He should probably try to chat with her- there was something he'd promised himself to tell her…but he couldn't open his mouth to say them. Sassafras. "Got to sleep, will you! It's no wonder you're tired all the time!"

"Rosette…" I want to be near you. I can't bear it, away from you. It's like I'm…being crushed… But…I don't know… how much longer…Why couldn't he say it?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Should we wake them?"

"Naw." Heather shook her head, letting Kate get Nina, tip toeing past the sleeping pair teens. "I'll tell them the parents took the kids. He'll probably be pissed off, but that's alright. It's better then having a big scene."

"I guess. Come on Nina."

---------------------------------------------------------end chapter 70--------------------------------------------------------

A/N: January…uh…26th, I think. I'm preparing for my Canadian history exam, a great looming monster on the boarder of the morning. Is anyone ever ready for en exam? I mean, unless you have the exam in front of you…yeah well, I'm ramble amble dambling (again) so I'll stop now…


	71. Sing it

A/N: Hello! (Jan. 27, 2007) Hey guys! Four down, one more exam to go!! By the time this is done, I will be out of exams and into the lovely world do second semester…hurrah! Well, here we go, chapter 71! Let's see how we go!

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade. Or a cruise ship. Or a mansion. Or a rocket. Or a car. Or a fancy chummy-thing…and I would want all that because? Society is weird. Or I am. I like what I've got!

"Je suis une terre-nuevenne!

Je rest la tout ma vie!"

Colleen Power

February 2nd….good grief. This is the second time I've tried getting this chapter started. I had something else planned, but then I realized it was too fillerish…however, at the end of the story, I have a file with NTNP cuts…scenes and parts of scenes that were removed. I'll post it at the end, like bloopers, but they may or may not be edited- well they were edited- edited out! So consider it a bonus.

Disclaimer: Nope. I dun own CC. Dun wanna.

----------------------------------------------------Chapter 71-----------------------------------------------------------

"Chrono! Where're my socks!"

"Grag! You bitch! That's MINE!"

"Is not!"

"Hey, fight somewhere other that the stupid bath room, will you!"

"Viede! Viede help me you useless excuse for a boyfriend!"

"Satella!"

"Wait! Don't come down! I'm not wearing anything!"

"Chrono! My socks!"

"So what if you're not wearing anything! Viede!"

"Aiii!" (Smack).

"Azmaria, quit screaming!"

"I'm not screaming!"

"What's going on you idiot!"

"Nothing! Aiii!!"

"Erg! SHUT UP!"

"Are they _always_ like this!" Heather groaned, pulling her hair back into a bun.

"Pretty much." Chrono handed her a slice of toast as he breezed past. "Morning Rosette."

"It's too early…" the girl's head dropped to the table.

"Chrono! MY SOCKS!"

"They're on the dried. Come on Rosette." he waved a slice of bacon in front of her nose, grinning as she started drooling in her sleep. "Roseette! The bacon is waiting." he hissed in a singsong voice.

Chomp!

"Missed me!" Chrono stuck out his tongue, dodging her haphazard swipe. "C'mon, it's time to wake up. It's a great morning!"

"Yeah. For school geeks like you. Hey! Give me that!"

"How about I give you the plate with the rest of it instead?"

"MINE!"

"Chrono! These socks don't match! The left one's three millimetres shorter! Do you know what sort of difference that makes to your circulation?"

"What sort of people ARE these Chrono?" Heather muttered, taking a 'heath' food shake from the fridge and downing it. "Right then. Tata, little brother." He waved over his shoulder, trying to rescue the eggs Rosette was murdering.

"Good morning." Az announced, striding in sprawling in her chair. "I see you two had a good Christmas holiday." she immediately started ploughing through a slice of toast…then a pile of eggs… Rosette set down her forkful of bacon and gaped as three platefuls of food disappeared into the small girl.

"Az?" Chrono rubbed his glasses as he sat down next to Rosette, raising an eyebrow at the small girl. "Are you alright?"

"She's fine. She's just stocking up for the snowboarding she's planning on doing. Geez! Look at this!" he held up a pair of blue socks and showed them- with a ruler- how one was _signifigently _shorter than the other. "See! This sock comes up to here- it might cut off circulation-"

"Good morning all." Satella purred, sashaying in, Viede at her side, a copy of Spaceships in Prehistory jammed to his face.

"To my foot. I must keep-"

"Chrono, have you seen my homework?"

"Maybe you shouldn't have left it to the last minute."

"I didn't leave it to the last minute! I did it first day!"

"Az, you are so weird!"

"I am not!"

"The circulation-"

"Ug! Are they going to shut up or what?" Rosette grumbled around her milk. Chrono handed her a cloth.

"Do you ever stop hitting me? (Whack)" He smiled, his hands resting lightly on his hips. "No, things are almost back to normal." He glanced at the clock as the radio started to chime out the stations call signal. "That's eight guys! Let's go!" Dishes were tossed into the sink, bags scrambled for, hats mitts and gloves fought over…

All in all, it wasn't surprising they were all late!

"What do we have first!" Rosette wheezed as they stumbled into homeroom. "I lost count of the days!"

"It's day one. Drama. Acting."

"Theatre?"

"Oui. Twice. Then French after recess."

"We have Aion TWICE! On our first day back? What kind of sick punishment is this!" She groaned, dropping her head on to her desk. "Rg! I'll kill him!"

"Some how I don't think that'd be a good idea, Rosette. Besides. You have no more-"

"Oh SHUT UP! Don't bring logic into this you idiot!" Chrono laughed and sat down, his eyes sparkling.

"Oh? No logic eh? Might that be because-"

"Chrono, I'm warning you!"

"- Because you can't-"

WHACK!

"CHRONO D'CRUSA YOU STUPID IDIOT! IF I KILL YOU ONE OF THESE DAYS, **DO NOT** BE SURPRISED!"

"Uh…you guys ready for practice…"

"I don't think they're listening." Brad, ever observant, noted. Roy nodded, sitting back to watch Rosette as she attempted to strangle Chrono.

"Should we stop her?"

"Is that even possible?" Claire snorted, striding over. "ALRIGHT you two! Rosette! Lay off!"

"Rg! I'm gonna murder you, you know that you annoying little twit!"

"Uh Uh. Not little this time. I'm a foot taller than you."

"Shut it! I never made fun of your height that much!"

"Hey, this is the first -ow- time!"

"ROSETTE! WILL YOU GIVE IT UP!" Claire screeched, kicking the nearest combatant.

"YOW!" Chrono yelped as Mr. Remington came in. "Claire!"

"If you would take your seats?" The teacher sighed, sitting in his desk as the class scrambled to find their places before the bell rang.

"Chrono." Poke. Chrono glanced back at Rosette out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey Chrono." Poke poke.

"Chrono" Poke poke poke. Smirking, her pulled out his novel for English and started reading, instantly feeling Rosette's annoyance.

"_Chrono!_" Poke poke….pokepokepokepokeWHAP!

"Ms. Christov." Principal Maloney growled, stalking into the classroom. "If you would refrain from hitting other students. Detention, Miss Christov. And you too, D'Crusa. For provoking her. Mr. Remington. If I may speak with you?"

"Ha-ha." Rosette giggled as third bell rang. "Got you too!"

"I would've stayed anyway." Chrono shrugged as they were washed to the gym. "You know that."

"Yeah." they linked hands, ignoring the pointed looks from other students. "You handling sound systems again today? I though you had that done?"

"I listen to your practice last day. There's some changes to make. Other than that, I'm working with the band."

"You were allowed to work with the band now?"

"Yeah. Apparently Ms Val suggested it." Brad said, clapping Chrono on the shoulder. "So now our little D'Crusa is our sound/ Stage manager."

"Wait." Chrono frowned. "I just knew I was handling the band."

"Yeah?" Claire raised an eyebrow. "Odd. We were all told you'd be taking over stage managing because Aion's got poof ."

"St-stage manager?" Chrono sputtered, backing up. "What are you-"

"Well, seeing as Aion took off to North Africa, if the stories are right, I need someone to run this."

"Mr. Remington!" They stopped as their teacher/neighbour grinned sheepishly.

"Your new drama teacher, actually."

"Wha????"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"This is insane!"

"What is?"

"The play!"

"Rosette, you knew we were supposed-"

"Shut up!" Rosette groaned. Why did she ALWAYS forget the important stuff!

Like the play being the next Friday!

"I still can't believe you forgot." Roy moaned. "I mean, you do know your lines perfectly…but to forget entirely… what an idiot."

"Brad!" Az snapped, glaring at him. "It's rude to call people idiots."

"Az, I still don't know. Is that really you? You're acting weird. Chrono! Pass the chicken, will you?"

"I only put it in the oven fifteen minutes ago! It's three in the afternoon Rosette!"

"Yeah? Well I'm hungry!" Satella rolled her eyes, sipping her coke.

"Rosette. Grow up."

"You grow up."

"I am more grown up!" Ella whined and rolled over. Rosette hit Chrono for thinking that was a good idea.

"Jerk off."

"No thanks."

"Idiot."

"Shouldn't you be practicing?" Azmaria sighed, heading for her room, phone in hand. How did things always get to this point? "Hallo? Jake?"

"Chrono! Get your butt over to the piano! You're helping too!"

"Hey Az? What's up? I was hoping you'd call."

"AZMARIA! You're supposed to be practicing too!" The violet haired girl sighed, shutting the door to her room.

"Sorry. It's kinda insane here."

"Az-"

"Yeah. Always."

"AZMARIA!"

"I'm on the phone!!! Jake, you want to hang out tonight?"

Chrono shook his head, squinting at the music. Good grief. How did he always get into this? He wondered as Brad continued to caterwaul next to Rosette. He did know one thing though. The air was crackling with something on the rise. Something was rubbing fate the wrong way, and that never bore well. Especially with Aion/ Superior as fate. No, this would be a rather nerve-wracking week.

However… he looked at Rosette, smiling. Nerve-wracking was good when she was around. He shut his eyes.

It was best to enjoy it while she was still here. Had she only been back a week? How could he be losing her again so quickly? Although, thanks to Heather, apparently, Vincent hadn't sent for her to return after the play. He had to hope that'd last.

"Idiot." Rosette growled during their break, handing him a glass of sprite. "You know, you don't need a band for this-" she held up her hands to appease the members of the band who'd actually risked coming over. "But I think you could do nearly as well on just the piano."

"Hardly." Chrono shook his head. "A piano wouldn't cut it for this particular story. I'd need eight hands. And then how would you hit me? I could block them all."

"Jerk."

"This is getting stupid, Rosette, you know that."

"Whatever. Now play! No, not a song from the play!"

Heather paused at the top of the stairs.

"I thought we were practicing!"

"We are. You're playing us a song."

"Oh, I don't get a break!"

"You aren't singing! Besides… erg, just play!"

"Nu-uh. You have to too!"

"What, you want me to LOSE my voice?"

"I don't want to lose you." A chorus of 'aws' hummed from the band until Rosette jabbed Chrono in the side.

"Damn it! I can't believe you! Fine, what song?" Chrono merely smiled.

"You probably won't know it., so I'll sing it myself."

"It's not the weird one you wrote while I was gone!"

"Have a little faith! And no." Flicking his ponytail over his shoulder, he chewed his lip for a minute. Then another minute.

"You don't know what song to sing!" Rosette exploded, whomping him in the shoulder.

"Untrue. Brad. Will you pass me the guitar?"

"This?"

"No, it's a mandolin. Yes that."

"You callin' me an idiot?"

"No bye!"

"Ass. Here."

"Merci."

"Smart ass. You're askin' for it D'Crusa."

"'T'ever." Chrono mock-scowled, running his fingers over the strings. "Shall we try then?" his fire eyes lit on her face. "Well?"

"Oh shut up and sing!" Rosette tapped her steaming fist on the table as, as requested, he started to play, his eyes boring holes in the far wall.

"We're in love / And we're alone.

The silence spoke / And told me so.

Stuck in the middle/ of a restless heart;

No place else to go."

"Feeling you / Overtime

I hear your thoughts / inside my mind

And I'd be crazy / If I let you go

Darling you should know…"

"I wanna love again / I wanna feel this way!

Stay with me / I won't leave you lonely.

And let tomorrow come / We've only just begun!

Stay with me/ oh stay with me!"

"I'd been lost / In No man's land

'til the day / you took my hand

And led me gently / to the other side

Now I understand"

"I wanna love again / I wanna feel this way

Stay with me / I won't leave you lonely

And let tomorrow come / We've only just begun

Oh stay with me / let love pass this way again"

"Love it's the answer / the fever and the cure

It's burning inside of me / and darling now I know for sure

I wanna love again / I wanna feel this way

Stay with me / I won't leave you lonely.

Love is the key / Love is the key

Stay…stay

I wanna love again / I wanna feel this way

Stay with me…

Let love pass this way…

Again."

Rosette leapt to her feet, her eyes flashing.

"You idiot. Here. Give me that." she snapped, snatching the guitar from his fingers. Now, how had he shown her? She was better on piano… dammit, the idiot! "Alright." she gave the guitar a determined strum and gave the band a 'figure out how to back me up or die' look before glowering at Chrono.

"You never really thought you'd live to see the day

When the walls around your heart were blown away

Just close your eyes and you will hear me say

It's alright."

"The key to everything I need is in your hands.

The part of me that no one understands

When all my bridges burn you tell me that…

It's alright."

"One world, one ride / One 'til the end of time

I'll be someone standing by your side / Every day of your life."

"Il y a des jours ou par amour on oublie tout

Le feu, les guerres, le chaos, les ramous…

Rien ne sera jamais plus fort que nous

It's alright."

"On a la foi qui peut déplacer les montages

Et nos pensées qui toujours se rejoignent

Tu sait que même au loin je t'accompagne…

It's alright."

"J's'rai la pour toi / tu peux compter sur moi

Comme ami qui jamais ne t'oublie / Chaque jour de ta vie.

Y'aura en moi

Toujours un peu de toi.

Fidéle comme une ombre qui te suit

Chaque jour de ta vie."

"Over and over your heart's been left bare

Haunted by faith that has led you no where

You don't need to call out my name

"Cause I'm always there…"

"J's'rai la pour toi / tu peux compter sur moi

Comme ami qui jamais ne t'oublie / Chaque jour de ta vie.

Y'aura en moi

Toujours un peu de toi.

Fidéle comme une ombre qui te suit

Chaque jour de ta vie."

She finished, wheezing, glaring at Chrono. "Musical enough for you?"

"Did I ever say you weren't musical?" he tugged the guitar from her grasp. "You're going to be mute, however, if you don't stop." he warned, giving her a glass of Peach juice. "Drink that and call it quits for today."

"But practice-"

"Has been on for three hours. You can practice tomorrow. 'Sides. Dinners ready."

"Food!" Rosette cheered, knocking everyone else over in her flight to the top of the stairs, followed by the band and the rest of the cast. Chrono blanched. "Me and my big mouth." apparently he'd be washing a lot of dishes that night.

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"Chrono! Where's the gun rack! I can't find it!"

"Mr. Remington!! I can't remember the line! I- hey- I can't remember-"

"Mr. Remington! Mr. Remington, I can't find my fcking boots!"

"Shut up idiot! You're talking to a teacher!"

"Yeah? Well, you aren't trampin' through puddles of coffee in nothing but socks! Remington!"

"And we need to have the set ready for the third act. That always causes trouble, and we need the smoke set up- oh and the band! They need music stands and chairs brought up from the music room and cafeteria, and- oh! Am I going to fast? Do you have all that?"

"..music…cafeteria…yeah, ok…" Chrono fixed his glasses, shoving the pencil through the hole in the clipboard. "What's after-"

"Well," Claire started, ticking item after item off on her fingers.

"Chrono! I can't find the flashlights!"

"Do we have any copper wire?" Roy hollered, running over with a roll of wire tape.

"Ask Mr. Remington guys- oh sorry Claire."

"-then you need to call in the setting people after scene four, and that's crucial- of! And the lighting people!- they have to be cued and ready for Brad's transformation scene, and-"

"Chrono, we need lights in the back room, the fuse went out!"

"What? Where's Mr. Remington?" Chrono yelled, frantically scanning the gym and stage full of teens rushing about in last minute frenzy. "We've only got a few hours left!"

"I don't know! I haven't seen him!" Az yelled, sticking her head out from the girls change room. "But none of us can see in here!"

"Chrono, the wire?"

"Ask the janitor. Az, tell everyone in there to take their things and go to the bathroom to change.- yes, I know. I'll fix the lights in a minute, but- yeah. That's why-"

"Chrono! Are they ready? We need to do a run through to make sure everything's working!" A freckled teen yelled from up in the lights. "

"Ah! Sassafras I-"

"Chrono!" there was a(nother) crash from backstage.

"Sassafras and peppercorns! Timothy, do a run-through with lights and sounds, check the sound on the mp and then- yes, I'm coming!"

"You seem busy." Ms. Harvenhiet noted.

"No sassafras. Claire! Take that and write down what you want me to do. I'll fix the lights."

"Wh- right!" Chrono squinted, entering the dank change-room. Now…where was the fuse box? Aha!" holding the pen light in his teeth, he switched the fuse, sighing as the light came on. There. That was one thing he'd done right. He returned to the gym, running strait into Claire.

"Chrono, I listed all the things-"

"Is the light fix- oh, never mind!"

"Ow! Rosette! What was that for?"

"What was it for? We aren't going to get ready be standing and gabbing! Now do up the zipper in the back! Ms. Harvenhiet, I am gonna kill you!" Rosette charged from the bathroom in her nun's habit and boots. "Did it occur to you to make these things easier to get into? We have a tight schedule!"

"Maybe if you weren't so clumsy-"

"You!" (Whack!)

"Guys, that's enough!" Chrono pushed the pair apart. "Ms. Harvenhiet, give them a hand if they need it. Gah!" He turned as Roy ran from back stage, black smoke whistling out from behind him. "Roy! Arg, where's Ewan?"

'He's not here? How did we get in?" Rosette lifted her habit and followed into the blackened room.

"He gave me a set of keys, said he was- oh for pity's sake!" A group of seventh graders peeped up at him from behind the disgusted speaker. "Hey, it's alright guys. Just a wire. There look, unplug it, will you..?" he bent, fixing something before giving them the thumbs up.

"Thanks sir!"

"Chrono's fine-"

"Arg!" Rosette raised an eyebrow.

"Has it-"

"Chrono, I have the list made up for during the play," Claire elbowed between them, sticking the clipboard in Chrono's face. "See first-"

"Claire, get the hell out of my way!"

"Hey! Shouldn't you be getting read-"

"Shut up! I needed to do something! Chrono, take it easy, alright? Don't take on too much." She gave him a quick kiss, squeezing his hand. "It's looking great, by the way. "

"Thanks, Rose-"

"Anyway," Claire harrumphed, glowering at them. They rolled their eyes, letting her rant.

"You all see to be doing well. Hey! Watch out with the ladder!"

"Mr. Remington!" A group of students charged over. "Aw! Is that your little girl?"

"Ug. It's insane in here." Ms. Valentine grumbled. "Hey! Are we trying to get the play off the ground or fawn like peasants!" she bellowed, clapping her hands. "Come on, come on! I'll give you all detention if you don't get started!" the students leapt up, dashing to do whatever they could, lest they appear lazy. Ewan laughed.

'She's rather forceful when she wants to be."

"Indeed." Chrono laughed.

"Uncle Chrono!" Nina grinned, lifting her arms.

"Urg! You're getting too big for this you know, Nine," he grunted, scooping her up as he headed for the stage.

"Ah! Chrono! Did I hear her call you uncle?"

"She's cute!"

"Aw! Look at her eyes! They're violet!"

"Chrono, do you have the wrench set?"

"Are we ready? We've only got about half an-"

"NO." Brad's snarl burst in from the hall as the doors slammed apart, the bang rattling the lights. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT!" He roared, charging in, Principal Maloney at his heels.

"Brad, you're being ridicules!"

"Me? Ho, I think not! You fink! I can't-"

"Brad, where've you BEEN!" Claire yelled. "Come on! We the play's going to start in hal-"

"Like Hell I am! I'm not going to be in the fcking play!" he turned on his heel stormed from the gym.

"WHAT!" Claire shrieked. "Brad! Brad Maloney, get your fat ass back here!" Chrono grabbed her shoulder and shoved the clip board into her hands.

"Claire, tell Mr. Remington I'm gone to talk to Brad. You handle the backstage."

"Wh- what? Are you-" the gym door slammed.

"Claire!"

"Claire, what do we-"

"Claire."

"What the Hell?" she raised the clipboard as a shield. "Holy crap!"

"What's going on?" Rosette asked, her neck prickling. "Where's Chrono? And don't we need the chairs set up?"

"Oh Hell! The chairs!"

"Are on their way." Billy announced, opening the door. "Chrono told us to bring them up earlier, once we were finished."

"WELL YOU TOOK LONG ENOUGH! GET MOVING!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"BRAD!" Chrono wheezed, his sneaker clad feet slipping in the slush. "Brad wait up!"

"Shut the hell up!" Damn! It was so dark out! He could barely see the other teen's aura glittering in the black.

"I won't." he scowled. "You may not care about this, but there are people relying on you!"

"YOU aren't the one who's about to be humiliated!"

"Try me! If you don't go back, I will. As will everyone else. You want that?"

"I said SHUT UP, you god damned smart-ass!" Brad whirled, his fist ramming him in the gut, knocking him back.

"Wha- you-" Without thinking, Chrono hit back. "What the sassafras Brad! What's going on!" he dodged another swipe.

"Bastard. You can actually sing!"

"What-"

"You're parents didn't bribe the god damned teacher!"

"Ah." Chrono paused, grabbing Brad's arm and giving it a light twist. "That's what this is over. Ow! What the hell! I'm not the one who bribed Aion!"

"No, bastard, you're not." Wham. Chrono winced, tasting blood. Oh well. Wasn't the first time.

"But you don't care." he shrugged ducking to the side and tripping the larger teen. "However, just- Urg- just because I'm handy doesn't make me a scapegoat."

"Who said I'm not mad at you too? Rat!" Brad hauled him over, shoving his nose into the snow.

"For what!" Chrono snarled, spitting out red snow, gagging as Brad grabbed his neck, fire howling through the amplifier. His breath froze, locked in his lungs, dark spots stabbing his vision. Breathe, he reminded himself. It's happened be- a fresh wave crashed over him- breathe! It HURT! Damn, he couldn't- he had to get- breathe- back to- school- hurt- darkness- something-

The play! A million shards of glass tearing through him, he rolled over, wheezing, as Brad had quickly released him.

"Holy shit D'Crusa, what the-" he raised a hand, resting his forehead on his knees.

"Don't- worry about that- this, I'll be fine. Now get you're ass back up to the school."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Rrg! Where the fcking hell- oh sorry Mr. Remingt- oh screw that! Where the fching hell are they?" Claire paced the back stage, double checking her list. "The curtain goes up in five minutes- Roy, get your stupid self into your stupid place!- and Brad disappears! This is-"

"Claire, Claire please relax!" Az pleaded, running up in her pink dress. "I mean-"

"Azmaria, this is a-"

"Aw lay off Claire. You've only been in charge for twenty minutes!" Satella smirked, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "So you shouldn't be this worried."

"Worried! Huh! I'm not worried! But why aren't you?" Mr. Remington sighed, putting a hand on Claire's shoulder.

"Claire, calm down. You handle the stage directions, I'll handle this problem."

Claire nodded. "Right. Show must…Everyone else, take your places."

"Places?" Rosette gave Claire a whack. "Are you nuts!"

"Get out there. The only light is on the choir for a couple minutes, then it's fairly dim, mainly centred around you-"

"Yeah, and then the lights-"

"Rosette, get your skinny butt on stage!"

"Shouldn't we wait a few minutes?" Joshua asked, twirling Fi around. "Just a few minutes?"

"You want to entertain that crowd?" Joshua blinked.

"Let's find are places Fi!"

"We aren't out yet, Mikay." Joshua nodded, his face white. Claire moaned.

"Great! One leading male is AWOL, and the other has stage fright-"

"Did anyone say I wasn't performing?" Joshua snapped.

"You're all-"

"Rosette, GET OUT ON STAGE!"

"We could still wait another few minutes-"

"Rosette, we're already a half hour late. We're working on it, so improvise!"

"Fine!" Whacking every person she passed, she took a deep breath and stepped on stage as the first song, one sung by the choir started. The lights in the audience faded beneath the curtain, and the lights on the stage dimmed to a murky darkness that bled into every crevice.

Not good, not good, not good, not good!

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" Damn! The choir started singing. She was supposed to echo…the curtain gave a creaking, whining as it was coaxed up. Fall! She begged it, fall dammit! Or get stuck! Something!

Her only reply was the glint from three hundred eyes.

Great. Slowly, she took the first step back.

"Who'd've thought such a thing could be?" the choir chirped as she stepped back again. She was supposed to take three steps from stage left, wait a moment, then take three more, then- one...two...three...her back thumped lightly against another.

"Lights up!"

---------------------end chapter 71------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/n: music by Roch Voisine. Fillerish? Yes. They got back to school though, didn't they? Laughs I may not be online for awhile, but I'll continue posting chapters. See on the 72 side!


	72. Playing with Disaster

A/N: this is actually a different 72 then was already posted- the other was put up by mistake, so sorry for that!!! But this on is different than that one (Which is now in chapter 71) so I hope you enjoy!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade- I'm just a bi-polar kitty with an alter ego or two!

-----------------------------chapter 72!!!------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Lights up!" Rosette groped behind her as a hand caught hers.

Foomph! Lights on! She blinked, the shadows eradicated by the glow of a spotlight, tightly on them, leaving blackness for the rest of the stage.

Having backed from opposite sides of the stage, they now stood, back to back, hand in hand as the choir paused.

"There's a story, I once heard." Rosette croaked out, the hand tightening.

"It's bizarre, they have said," the choir responded.

"Strange, bizarre, weird, can't be-"

"True"

"I have listened to stories strange," Rosette swallowed. "From left and right, from any range, I'm loath to believe them" behind her, he took a deep breathe.

"Loath that's true-oooh! Is it trueoh…Whoo oo oo!" the girls crooned.

"But I guess it's hard to pretend… when we're standing here…having just moved the way of our liveswhoo-oh!" His voice slipped out, no hesitation. Biting back a sigh, she let her voice join. "Unlikely story strange but true, unlikely story oh-ho, don't let us decide for you! A demon and a nun, how can that be true? But this unlikely story " Step out, turn, look up, smile- oh! Red and gold- "Is about me and you."- whirl away into the shadows of left/right stage as the music silenced.

"Welcome, welcome!" Sammy called, bounding up onto the stage. "My name is Shader, last of the Sinners! Thank you so much for coming!" she paused, tucking her hair behind her large cat ears. "So. Have you ever heard of the Sinners?" Rosette scooted into her next position, straitening her costume, making sure her microphone was off as she moved, slipping behind and around sets as they were moved into place.

"Alright, left light off, centre on Shader-" Chrono turned and waved, tightening the laces on the oversized shoes. "Music…yep. You got it." he was hissing into a hand-free. Rosette jabbed him in the shoulder.

"Chrono! What the hell!"

"Rosette." Brad pushed her back into position. "Ask questions later." he shot a glance at Chrono, holding up the list. "You sure that's everything?" The other pulled off the head set and slapped it into his outstretched hand.

"Claire's got the other half of the list. Between the two of you, you'll be fine."

"Rosette, you ready?" Claire whisper-yelled. "Sam's story's working through."

"Wha? Oh- yeah- wait no- Brad, Chrono-"

"I will not play a role that was bought." Brad cast a furious eye towards the audience where somewhere, Principal Maloney was sitting. "He bribed Aion. I have no intention of playing that game."

"Bu-"

"Rosette, even if he doesn't know it all, he knows-"

"From that world, Pandemonium, came the Sinners."

"Good luck!" Claire grinned, dragging Brad off the stage.

"There were six of them, back then, led by Aion. I was one of them. Besides the two of us, there were four others, Genai, Rizel, Viede and Chrono. We were best friends, working together to be free of the chains that bound us to Pandemonium, the demon world. All seemed to be going as planned, until the unthinkable happened- Chrono, our most powerful fighter and Aion's loyal supporter, turned on us rather than kill a mortal woman whom we no longer had any use for, according to Aion." Sammy paused, licking her lips, continuing to set up the story. "So let us see where this goes, this battle, as Rosette and Chrono strive to rescue Joshua from Aion and settle their differences!"

"On stage, 23 up!" Rosette grinned at Chrono, charging onto the stage, her heart relaxing. Demons? Monsters? Rabid audiences? Who cared? He smiled back, tossing her the weapon she'd 'requested'.

"The Sacred, ma'am!"

"It's gone back onto the ship!"

"What!" Rosette yelled. "Let's go Chrono, we're going after it!"

"What? But you're out of weapons!" he yelled back.

"That's what you're here for, idiot!" she snapped, dragging him towards the huge ship set up left stage.

"Rosette Christopher, age 16. Currently a level 2 exorcist, one down from the militia." Joshua (who was playing father Remington) stated. "She has been racing from mission to mission with her partner Chrono, a demon, who is bound to her soul, to gain strength and find clues as to the whereabouts of her brother, Joshua." Rosette vaulted off the ship set as the lights for that area dimmed (except for the part that was crashed into the Statue of Liberty) Wheezing, she ran to the other end of the stage, clambering up onto the balcony where she was to watch Azmaria sing. Chrono crouched down beside her, aura flickering yellow.

"Star of Bethlehem, star up high.

Miracle of the midnight sky.

Let your luminous life of heaven better our hearts and make us fly"

"Enough!" Ricardo barked, clapping his hands.

"See that girl?" Rosette said to Chrono. "That's the target."

The audience cheered as they rescued Azmaria and returned to the Order of Magdalene in time to be bawled out by Sister Kate and sent off onto another mission- and so act one passed, then act two as they met Satella Harvenhiet.

"This tastes horrible!" Satella snapped, chewing, her nose wrinkled in disgust. "The roll's dry, the lettuce is limp and the sausage is terrible!"

"It- urg, Rosette, calm down!- it sounds like you spent some time in Germany. Were you born there?"

"So you can tell." Satella said softly, fingering her necklace. "I lived there as a child before coming to America to look for someone. I've been searching and searching-"

"Oh shut up and spit it ou-"

"That's enough." Chrono warned, his hand patting her head. "It's hard, to search for someone for years and years. We should know that better than anyone."

"Great." Rosette grumbled, blushing, because he was patting her head like a child- "Now I'm the bad one here. I under- oomph! You darn brats!"

On they raced, their feet thumping to the music, pounding away time, weeks, days that they had run through before, again and again.

"But Rosette-"

"Shut up! I haven't danced since I was eleven." she yelped as he stomped her foot.

"IDIOT!"

"Yeow!"

"Meany!" (Stomp)

"Big idiot!" (Stomp)

"Destructive!" (Stomp! Stomp) The fiddler continued to ramble away. Stomp, stomp.

"Shorty!" (Step)

"Blondie!"(Step turn)

"What's that got to do with anything?" (Spin.)

"Hey look!" Azmaria called from their growing audience. "They've got it!"

"My- my stomach hurts!" Satella chuckled. Step turn- Chrono smiled, laughing as they nearly tripped another couple, careening about the dance floor, their hair fanning behind them, contrasting colours. She stumbled without fear, their fingers tight together-

"Hey! Rosette!" Dammit Az! She cursed as the small girl called them over. "A picture!"

"Fine." She hated pictures! HATED them! They always showed how much time had passed! The lamps from the carousel made the ground glow- sure there was barely enough light for the photographers camera! She bristled, Satella hugging Chrono.

"What the hell're you doing?"

"I'm paying!"

"What! You let him go!" she tried to pry him from the witch's grasp.

"Uh- I'm taking the picture now!" They smiled, then resumed fighting as Chrono wandered off.

"Where's Chrono?" She asked, glancing around. Where?

"I think he went to find a garbag- Rosette!" Azmaria smiled as the other girl ran off.

"Hey! Hey Chrono!" the lights of the carnival faded behind her as she ran, scrambling up the stairs to right stage. "Chrono!" Relief rushed though her as she spotted him standing by some clowns. "What are you doing here? You should've been back ages ago!"

"Me? Sorry-" he glanced behind her. "Where're Az and Satella." He was asking about the others?

"They're-" she turned, blinking. Where had the man in the violet suit gone? The little boy with balloons?

"Don't tell me…" Chrono groaned behind her. "Come on then." his hand- it was larger than it should've been- scooped up hers. "I guess we'll have to go some place less crowded. Come on." They went to the balcony, leaning on the rail as chatter rang out from the bustling crowd, mixing with the tenders yelling their wares and the music still galloping out from the dance floor.

"Wow! Look at the lights!" Chrono stiffened beside her, his face blanching. "Something wrong?" she asked, touching his arm. He jerked, his face reddening.

"No…this all just reminded me of a city…lights I saw long ago." he rested against the banister, a small smile twitching in his lips. "Those…are nice memories." Memories…

"Arg!" the rail rattled in surprise as she slapped it. Memories… she looked sidelong at him; Chrono. He'd been alive so much longer than her, had seen so much more than her, yet he never changed. "You're no fair!" He looked at her, wide eyed.

"Wha-whaddya mean?" He sputtered, backing up to avoid her wrath.

"You never change! You're the same now as you were four years ago, and you're probably they same as you were FIFTY years ago!" she harrumphed, pouting. It wasn't fair! Chrono chuckled, shaking his head.

"There's nothing that doesn't change…" he laughed, boosting himself up onto the banister and standing there, smiling down at her, warmth in his eyes reaching to her through the cool night, brushing her like the breeze licking her neck, except…except not as distant, though he was further away. "…if you look at it as one big cycle. Starlight takes tens of thousands of years to reach the earth. The lives of the people living under those stars change over time. It's the same for me. Ever since I woke up, I've changed a little everyday. These four years have meant a lot more to me than the fifty I spent asleep." his eyes crinkled, a fresh blush creeping across his round cheeks. "Thanks to you." When had he started to smile at her like that? When had he lost the haunted-

The crowd screamed as an eagle swooped above their heads.

Aion.

"Joshua!"  
"Rosette!"

"Hello, Rosette." Aion purred, stepping out of shadows. He seemed different, wrong, burlier…

"Let my brother go!" she snarled, leaping forward. "Joshua!" she trained her gun on Aion. This was it!

Bam!

"Ah," Aion crooned, licking the tiny trickle of blood from his lip. "Where would the fun in that be?" He laughed as Joshua drew a gun, the stage fading, blackness around them, ice filling her chest.

"I'm looking for my sister." Joshua droned, raising the gun. "Have you seen her?" It hadn't worked! Not even the gospel could stop Aion- Hands grabbed her, pulling her back.

"Rosette!" Chrono pushed her to the ground as the shot whistled over head. "Are you…" her gospel hadn't stopped Aion, she'd forgotten what it meant to face a demon- "Rosette!"

Bam!

Suddenly, Chrono was on the ground beside her, blood streaming from his chest.

Blood from a gun shot.

A holy gun shot.

Oh God.

"Chrono!" his name barely creaked past her lips. "Chrono!" louder this time, her hands pushing at the wound.

"Rosette!" Satella yelled, running into view, Azmaria at her heels. "Rosette-"

"You will not stop this," Viede rumbled as Rosette bent over, still trying to coax her partner to waking. Aion scowled, shoving her aside.

"How long will you remain dead?" he barked, lifting the smaller demon. "How long? You're enemy is before you!"

"AION!" He was alive! She opened her mouth to call his name, but her voice was lost as pain crashed over her. The two demons fought- it hurt! Chrono was in danger- she couldn't move- Chrono- stop fighting, help- her life- Chrono-

Rosette blinked as the curtains fell, marking the end of the second act, the pain- had there really been any? Fell away.

"You're doing great guys." Mr. Remington grinned, helping her too her feet. "Keep it up." Viede, Azmaria, Jerry (the boy playing Joshua) and the other "Sinners" were on stage as Azmaria awoke in Eden. "Alright. Places for act three!" He whisper-called as Sammy started her narration for the third act.

"You alright?" Chrono tipped his head to the side as they knelt off stage, waiting, his eyes worried. "Nothing really hurt back then, did they? Your scream-"

"Were you really shot?" she tried to smile, but even so, the image wouldn't leave her head, the backs of her eyes. She dropped her head, resting it on his shoulder. "You're doing great, you know, you idiot."

"Heh, How many times have I been over it with you this week?" He nuzzled her cheek, shutting his eyes. He wanted to hug her, his feelings informed her. She didn't seem to think that was a bad idea, his thoughts retorted. "I just hope I don't mess up from here on out but…" she took his hand, standing as Sammy finished explaining how the Order had had to restrain Chrono and how he locked himself away in his soul.

"It's a thing demons did to stop using Astral. Rather than kill Rosette by draining her life, Chrono wanted to prolong her life after the San Francisco incident. Lucky for us, I suppose, Rosette Christopher wasn't about to let her partner hide away for the next few years. She dove into Chrono's soul with a process the Order called a dive, wherein one person goes into another person's soul. It was through this that Rosette dragged Chrono back with her. Father Remington, acting on the order from the Council of Bishops to kill Chrono, got Rosette and her demonic partner away from the order and proceeded to fight Chrono, making the demon realize his true enemy was his rage- once he could control that, then he and Rosette would have a better chance. And so, armed with the best weapons of the Order, Rosette and Chrono continue, pushing on to Aion's strong hold- the Sinner's paradise and Chrono's home of fifty years prior: Eden." Rosette set her shoulders as the curtains rose.

Here they went again.

"This is Eden?" She scanned the huge room with it's columns and platforms. Chrono tipped his head back, taking it in.

"It's…been fifty-four years…" he murmured, his fingers wrapping around the straps of the weapons case.

"That's right!" she gasped. "You used to live here, didn't you!"

"Yup. Let's go find Joshua."

"Right! Then we take out the sinners- every last one of them!" Chrono flinched.

"Every last one of us, eh?" A chuckled crackled from the edge of one platform. "That mouth of yers is gonna get you into trouble girlie. Chrono. Come on, we been waiting for you- I'll show you around. But not you dame." he pointed a half eaten chicken leg at her. "This is the part where I kill you for what you did to Rizel." He barked, referring to the demon they had slain on the train.

"Yah!" she aimed a shot, but he was gone.

"Rosette!"

"Damn!" the demon's scissor sword snapped shut seconds behind her. Desperately, she fired, but the shots, screaming through the icy air, did nothing.

"Look out!" Chrono grabbed her as the platform beneath them crumbled, his leap dragging them out the rubble and into Genai's path. "Erg! Cross barrier!"

Back they were pushed, across the stage, Genai's attacks coming faster and faster.

"What're you waiting for Chrono?" Genai jeered. "If you really want to save that brat, why don't you just fight me?" He knocked away the first of the columns. "Oh! I almost forgot. Your powers got sealed so you can't use 'em anymore. And why did you do this? To protect the girl you made a contract with! What a joke! What are you even fighting for!?"

"For Joshua, of course!" Rosette yelled. What else would they be fighting for?

"Huh?" Genai burst out laughing. "That brat's forgotten all about you! He likes what he's become! You're gonna die tryin' to stop us and it'll all be for nothing! You fool!" Rosette stiffened, tears pounding at her eyes.

"Rose-" Chrono swore, pulling her away from another swipe from Genai's sword, his hand blistering as he threw another cross barrier. He tossed her a gun, a different one.

"I have to find out for myself!" Rosette bellowed, raising it. "Or we'll never move forward at all! Truth is conveyed by more than just words. TETRAGRAMMATON!" The explosion from the shot rocked the quivering towers.

"This- ain't over yet!" Genai grunted, dragging himself up. I'm gonna-"  
"Enough." Viede rumbled, stepping from a hall. "The fight's over Genai, you lost. Come on you two." they were led to a plain, where far above, demons of all shapes and sizes blacked out the sky, hundreds of them, thousands of them.

"The time has come!" A demon roared from above. "It is time to pay for your crimes, sinners!"

"That's Duke Duffau!" Chrono gasped. "One of pandemonium's pursuers! I don't believe it! The head of the armed forces himself?

"You animals, scuttling along with your noses in the dirt. Filth! I didn't think you were worth my time, so I left you alive. But now you dare threaten Pandemonium again?! So be it then! I'll just do what I must to destroy you! Forward!" the ranks of demons pelted ahead towards where the sinners stood. Chrono grabbed Rosette's arm.

"Come on. We can get to Joshua while this is keeping them busy. Stay focused," he warned as they ran. "Don't get caught up in this." the ran, demons rising, rank on rank behind them.

"What'd'we do? There's thousands of them!"

"Keep- Aion." Chrono paused a Duffau held up the demon that had once been his closest friend.

"Chrono! The doors are closing!"

"Eh- right!" timp timp timp! On they ran, door grating shut behind them.

"One more to go!" the door twisted ahead of them, the screams of demons echoing through the cavernous rooms bathed in black and blood.

"Hooraugh!" Hundreds of demons filled the room as the pair of doors started to slide shut, their swords clanging off the metal walls.

"Almost there!" Chrono yelled, nearing the door. "Rosette, forget shooting ! It's like firing at an avalanche!"

"Augh!" Rosette screeched as she fell. NO!

"Rosette!" Chrono whipped around as the demons dove for his partner. "Rosette!" He threw himself over, grabbing her by the collar and flinging her through the doors as the demons attacked.

"Geez Chrono." Rosette complained, rubbing her head. "Be a little- CHRONO!" The demon braced his legs, gasping as the demon's swords gouged into him, his sides, his stomach, his back.

"Nng," he tried to back up, pushing at the swords.

"Chrono!" Panicking- he was hurt; they'd kill him- Rosette leapt to her feet.

"STAY BACK!" Chrono roared, blood dripping from his lip. "They won't make it past this block," he nodded to the rapidly thinning opening. "Joshua's- right ahead of you. You can make it if- if you go now!"

"What the hell are you talking about!" she screamed, pushing at the doors. "Open dammit!"

"They- won't." Chrono smiled weakly. "The controls are broken." he winced, trembling. He'd had a feeling this day would come. The day when he could no longer stand by her side. "You- worry too much, Rosette." he whispered, choking as another blade bit his side, something hot and wet rising in his mouth. "I'm getting out of here, it's just going to take…a little time. And right now-" he met her eyes briefly. "That time…could cost you your life. Rosette," he yelled, wrenching one blade free. "I have no intention of dieing." A little further…"I'll catch up, I promise."

The door rammed shut, cutting them off.

"Chrono!" she banged at the door. "Chrono answer me! Chrono!" Oh god, what- no, he wasn't dead, he couldn't be- "Chrono, you- you- IDIOT" She howled, as blades scraped across the other side of the door. "Damn!" she drew her gun firing. "Open dammit!" Nothing! It wasn't working, the shots simply glancing off the metallic surface. "No…" her hand fell on the pocket watch.

Of course.

"She twisted the knob, stiffening as the energy sluiced from her.

"Rosette! Rosette, what are you doing!" thank god! His voice reverberated through the doors.

"Nothing was working!" she called back, pressing her back to the door as more demons came.

"Rosette, close the-" the stage went black as she fainted. "Rosette!"

The room lit as she opened her eyes.

"That was close, wasn't it?" Joshua droned with a smile. "No one will bother us here. So tell me. You really are my sister Rosette, aren't you!" He hugged her, his wings shimmering in the half-light. "I've finally found you- I've missed you so much sister." A sob broke her throat.

"I've missed you too, Joshua-"

"You'll stay with me, right? Even if the world gets pulled apart? I won't let anyone get between us ever again. I should put down anyone who tries to!" she gasped, pushing him away.

"Look at me!" she begged, "LOOK at me! Joshua!" she grabbed him by the collar. "There are other people waiting for you! Give back the horns. Then… then let's go home. Back to the orphanage you froze in time!" Joshua looked confused.

"But…" he fingered the horns. "These are what set me free! You want me to go back to being chained to a bed?"

"No, but they aren't yours Joshua! They're CHRONO'S, and now HE'S the one in chains, suffering IN YOUR PLACE!" Joshua backed away, his eyes wide.

"You're not Rosette. My sister was nice. She'd never say something like that!" He raised a glowing hand, his face black with distaste. "And if you're not my sister-" Rosette gasped, scrambling in her pocket. "Then I don't need you!"

"Wait!" she screamed, thrown back despite the cross barrier she threw up. "Aug!" She leapt to her feet, shaking her head to clear it. She yelped as a shot whistled past.

"There you are" he grinned, aiming at her. Damn! She turned her own gun on him, hesitating. "You do know how to shoot, don't you?" The blonde teen who had once been her dearest companion, her beloved brother, jeered, firing at the wall behind her. She tumbled to the side, swearing.

"His power is incredible! I blame this on your horns Chrono!" She had to think of a way… she fingered her handful of remaining barriers. Clenching her teeth, she stood, holding out her gun as if to fire.

"I told you that wouldn't work." Joshua snapped. She snorted.

"Your 'kind' sister huh? Sorry I'm not what you were expecting Joshua, but I'm the only sister you've got! Where you've been dreaming and chasing shadows, I've been fighting for real, in the real world, chasing YOU, not some shadow." she pushed the button on the cross, leaping forward in the moment he was blind, knocking him to the ground and pressing her gun to the base of his left horn.

"Can you shoot him?" Chrono had asked. She clenched the gun, finger tight on the trigger.

"Yes. If he can't be brought back to normal…"

BANG!

Joshua screamed as his horn broke off.

"Sister! Sister help me!"

"I'm here, Joshua!" Sobbing, Rosette threw her arms around him. "I'm right here."

"We…promised…"Joshua's eyes widened, his hand gripping his right horn. "I can't rely on these things…forever…we promised to become grownups together!" The reunited siblings embraced, tears flooding down their cheeks in tides.

The lights around them dimmed.

"Despite this reunion," Sammy/ Shader announced through the shadows. Rosette jumped up, taking he place alongside Jerry for the next scene. "The demons were doing their best to stop a different reunion."

"Are you alright?" Joshua asked her, helping her onto the platform.

"Oh yeah." Rosette laughed, fingering the pocket watch. It hadn't gone down as much as it should've if Chrono was going all out. The fool was holding back. "We just have to find Chrono. There's…there's something important I want to tell him. How're you?"

"I'm fine." Joshua shrugged, rubbing his temple.

"Goo- CHRONO!" She yelled as she spotted her partner slumped on the ground, the rest of the demons advancing on him. "Chrono!"

"I'll take the demons, you help Chrono!"

"Don't keep me waiting!" she warned, taking off.

The pocket watch chimed as her feet stopped.

"Rosette!" She barely heard Chrono's howl as she fell, barely felt it as he scooped her up, calling her name. "Rosette!"

"What happened! Rosette!" Joshua asked, racing over. "Rosette! What's wrong with her?"

"I…" Chrono choked, his tears dropping unstilted to the floor. "She's dead. And it…it's…my fault! I made a contract-"

"You WHAT?" he said nothing at Joshua's blows as they pelted across his face. "Bring my sister back you- you monster!" the demon's eyes remained locked on Rosette's white face. It was true, wasn't it? He was a monster, and a murder, to steal the life of this girl, this woman.

"Well Chrono. Here I am!" Aion crowed from above. "Right here. See? I'm nearly at the core. You don't seem to excited." the demon leaned over the banister. "Ah. So the young lady finally died did she? My bird that can't fly, so pitiful, so sad." he laughed, holding up a handful of jewels. "If you need someone to make a contract to, that's not a problem. Just use one of these jewels. It's time to return to the nest Chrono." Chrono's breath caught in his throat, his heart pounding.

"Aion." he spat, picking up the horns- his horns- that Rosette had dropped. "You're always looking down from above aren't you? That's why you don't understand. These people have names, faces. A warmth all their own." he stood, lifting a horn to his temple. "Try putting your feet on the ground and walking for once. Here's my answer." He didn't care what happened to him now, but he wouldn't let Rosette down by allowing Aion to get away. Aion smirked, darting off, leaving him to follow.

"Wait!" Joshua yelled. "Are you just going to leave her then?" Chrono froze mid-step, the tears, the fire building in him again.

"I…" he shut his eyes, forcing the emotions away. "I am…a monster. Monsters…can't live with humans. All we can do…is destroy." He was a monster, and no matter how hard he fought that fate…

"Wait! Azmaria cried, racing over. "She's not dead yet! We can still save her! Chrono, you keep Aion away, ten minutes should do, but as long as you can. We'll try to save Rosette! Come on Joshua!" they split up, Azmaria, Rosette and Joshua disappearing off stage left, Chrono trailing after Aion to the right.

"Aion!" Chrono stumbled to a stop, glaring at the other demon.

"Ah, so it's time is it?" Aion drew his sword and Chrono his. "And why're you doing this? The person who mattered from that world is gone!"

"That's why I have to stop you! I have to stop you, and I won't let her be killed again!"

"Again! Hah! She's mortal you fool! All mortals die. She's not like us, so what makes her so important! It doesn't make sense!" between the blows, they meandered back and forward across the stage, steering clear of the middle platform where Az, Joshua and the other apostles were trying to revive Rosette.

"Make sense?" Chrono grunted, knocking Aion's blade aside. "It doesn't have to make sense. She's precious to me, and that's what matters!" they were growing closer to the others. Damn.

"This means nothing!" Aion snarled as Chrono shoved past his flailing sword and grabbed the other's arm.

"Time freeze!" Chrono turned, racing to his partner's side. "Rosette! Wake up!"

"Why didn't it work!" Az cried, hands clenched. "What- there must be… Rosette's soul, I know I saw it…CHRONO! OPEN THE POCKET WATCH! Rosette's soul it connected to it!"

"The-" Chrono yanked on the knob. "Rosette!"

"Fool!" Aion bellowed, his sword driving through the younger demon's back. "Get out of the way Chrono! I'm going to destroy the system!"

"Dammit! You're not…going to…" Chrono strained to reach Rosette's gun, his fingers stretching desperately.

"You won't get away with this!" He had it but… Rosette's hand circled his, correcting his aim.

Bang!

The jewel supplying Aion's power shattered amid the crowd's cheers.

"It's…is it finished?" one of the apostles asked. Azmaria nodded. "I think so."

"Rosette!" Joshua called. "Chrono! Are you alright?" He paused, staring at the embracing couple.

"I'm afraid things changed a little while you were gone, Joshua." Azmaria warned gently. Joshua smiled.

"Oh course. I wouldn't want it any other way." he chuckled, watching his sister happily wrapped in the embrace of a demon.

"I'm back Chrono." she whispered.

"Yeah." he pressed his cheek to her hair, his tears mingling with hers. "It's a miracle."

"No, its not." she smiled up at him, her demon. "I heard a voice, your voice. I knew I had to answer." Joshua glanced around.

"Hey! Where's Aion!" the ground beneath them shook.

"Pandemonium's going ot collapse." the apostles moaned, their blank eyes growing darker.

"What!" Rosette leapt to her feet. "We've got to stop it!"

"If I told you not to go, then you wouldn't listen, would you?" Chrono groaned. "Let's go then." they ran together, leaving the others behind.

"Rosette?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's fly. It's faster." his large hand cradled hers.

"Time freeze." he whispered. "I'm sorry."

"Wh-" Rosette croaked as she found she couldn't move her legs. "Why-"

"Aion's ahead, and I won't be able to protect you." Chrono said softly, taking the pocket watch from around her neck.

"But I don't want to be separated from you again!"

"Wasn't it you who said "the place where Chrono can return to was decided four years ago"? Well, that place is wherever you are." he swallowed. "I will be back. I swear." he whispered, hugging her tightly. "Never forget that. Never, ever forget that." his lips closed over hers and the lights dimmed, the spotlight flitting onto Shader.

"Chrono chased after Aion, and no one knows if he was or wasn't successful." Sammy whispered. "However, we do know that seven years later, he and Rosette were reunited before they both passed on, together. An angel and a demon, really just a boy and a girl, who set out and succeeded in doing the impossible!"

Chrono looked up as Sam started speaking.

"We did it!" Rosette muffled her squeal, throwing her arms around him, a grin stretching her face. "Come on!" She grabbed his hand and they ran off the stage, laughing. "We did it! We DID it!" She laughed, Chrono twirling her around before kissing her again.

"Of course you did."

Whack.

"We did, you stupid idiot!" she danced them around again, whooping. "Hey, at least this time I don't get into trouble for breaking stuff!"

"Aw! You guys were fantastic!" Claire cheered, bounding over.

"Fantastic doesn't cut it!" Joshua crowed, hugging Fi. "We ruled!"

"Let's have a big hand for our cast!" They headed for the stage at Mr. Remington's call, lining up and bowing as the audience stood, the applause a rain storm in the drought as the final curtain fell.

"You all did a wonderful job!" he said firmly, his hands folded. "Although, I cannot see why this is more desirable than math homework, speaking of which," he laughed. "You will still have to have done- but not tonight! Now, go get changed, we're heading out to pizza after this."

"Alright!" Joshua slapped Viede on the back. "Yeah, who're we?"

"The acting squad!" Roy dropped an arm over Brad's shoulder. "Who rulez!"

"We do!"

"Hurry up will ya Chrono! The pizza won't last forever!" Chrono paused as the wooden change-room door swung shut, his neck tingling.

"Chrono!"

"Yeah yeah." he frowned, squinting at the dark back-stage room. He was being stupid. Everyone else was already set to go! Shaking his head, he ducked into the change room.

"Azmaria, hurry up in there!" Rosette growled, pacing by the bathroom door.

"I'm done, I'm done!" the girl skipped out, holding open the door. "You and Chrono were great!"

"Yeah, thanks. AND DON'T YOU DARE EAT ALL THE PIZZA!!!" they'd done it! "YESS!" she gave the sink an enthusiastic thump, yelping as it fell off on an angle. "CRAP!" she swore, trying to force it back up. When she couldn't repair it after a few seconds, she gave up. She'd fix it later! "WHOOHOO!" They'd done it, they'd…she touched her lips, her cheeks red. Was it a good or bad sign if she still blushed every time he kissed her? She still wasn't sure. Shrugging the question aside, she yanked off the habit, tossing it into the far corner. "Bye bye habit! Nun of that for me! Ha HA!"

The door clicked shut, a shadow in the mirror.

"You seem quite proud of your little show, Rosette Christov."

"AION!"

--------------------------End chapter 72-------------------------------------------------------

A/N: alright, there was a mix up in the chapters, so some people aren't going to know what happened…Aw sassafras!! Basically, what's in this version of chapter 72 was put with 73 (unposted) by mistake, but what was in 72 was ACTUALLY supposed to be in 71...don't ask. All I know it this is the right 72.


	73. Hold me now

A/N: Hey! Sneko here with a warning: if you've read chapter 72 and it didn't include who acted the part of Chrono in the play as well as the acting of the play, you'll have to go back and reread it, because I messed something up posting chapters and now it's fixed, but the order is slightly different!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono crusade. Just this story. And bridges.

-------------------------Chapter 73-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What!" she whipped around, scrabbling for her tee shirt on the plaster covered floor- stupid sink! "AION!"

"What? Were expecting someone else?" he oozed through the flicking light, twirling her locket around his mud-streaked finger. "Oh how sweet. My little brother gave you a gift!" her hands scrambled behind her. Weapon, weapon, she had to find SOMETHING! Aion laughed, tossing his greasy, hair from his face. Finally! Her hand circled something hard, cool. "Fool!" he kicked the pipe from her hand, grabbing her. "Do you know what you've done, little witch?"

"Let the hell go of me!"

"What?" Aion pushed her against the wall. "I asked you a QUESTION!" each word was accentuated by a shove, a fingering of his dagger. "Well, I'll tell you!" he tossed her aside, pacing. "You cost me my job, Rosette Christov. You cost me my status, my power, everything I own of the mortal world, let alone the angelic one!" his hand wrapped around her wrist as she tried to make a leap for the locked door. "Not that way."

"LET ME GO!"

"What? A pretty girl like you?" Aion chuckled. "I think not!"

"Ass hole!" She kicked at him, swearing as she missed. "Let me go! LET ME GO!"

"That's quite enough screaming from you, missy!"

"ROSETTE!" Aion paused, his face inches from her as the door gave a shudder. "ROSETTE!"

"Chro-" she choked as Aion's mouth clamped down, swallowing her holler.

"ROSETTE!" the banging continued, but Aion merely chuckled.

"You know Rosette, there are things in this world you have to reach for," he whispered, fingering her hair. "And you know? You might have-"

"Damn you, NO!" She screamed, kicking him.

"Aug!" he bellowed, dropping to his knees. "Urg! Little bitch!"

"Chrono!" she grabbed for the lock, yanking at it. Open open open!

"Get back here!" Aion grabbed her around the waist.

"No!" she snarled, hitting, kicking, biting any part of the monster that came anywhere near her. "Dammit!" A piece of the sink cracked against her skull, casting stars into her vision. Aion's grin widened, his eyes turning an inky black.

"You won't escape this time, you pathetic mortal!" he rumbled, licking his lips. "I WILL make Time pay for this!" The angel bent over her, hands on her shoulders, keeping her down, his lips on hers, keeping her silent.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Suddenly the weight was gone as Superior skidded into the wall. "Damn you, Superior, leave her out of this!" Chrono stuffed her shirt into her hands, his eyes racing over her. "Rosette, are you ok? He- he-"

"I'm fi-" Superior grinned. "Chrono look ou-"

Clang!

"Chrono! Aion, you bastard!" Rosette grabbed the end of the pipe before Superior could deal a second blow. Chrono groaned, wobbling to his knees.

"Like hell I will!" The white haired demon/angel snarled then yowled as Chrono jumped him from behind, yanking hard on his hair. "Whelp!" he twisted, shoving Chrono over. "You think you can stop me, Time?"

"Screw can or can't!" Chrono growled, his eyes molten, fists pounding.

"Fool!" Superior smirked, gaining the upper hand and pinning the smaller teen to the ground.

"Chrono, Rosette-" Az screamed, racing away. "Mr. Remington! Ms. Valentine!"

"No!" Rosette grabbed the pipe Aion had dropped, bracing it in her hands, trying to get a clear shot as Chrono regained the upper hand, then Superior. "Damn, Chrono, I can't-" the two fought, twisting and striking on the floor, wrestling for blows, violet and silver hair flying in tangles.

"I won't let you get away with hurting her!"

"You're fighting the gods, Time!" Chrono shuddered, his innards wrenching as he rammed into the floor and the amplifier drove into his spine, wildfire devouring every bone in his body even as Superior's hands closed over his throat, jamming the amplifier between his spine and the floor.

He didn't need to guess at which would give first. Superior grinned.

"You're a determined bastard, little demon!" Chrono thrashed, his lungs clawing for breath. The silver glint burned the air and he twisted, choking as a second pain joined the amplifier's dizzying fire. Damn it! He struggled, trying to free himself from the mocking cackle.

"NO!" the howl sundered the air. "No!" He coughed, liquid heat filling his mouth instead of the air he needed- Rosette- Rosette, was she alright? His spine creaked, jarring him. It BURNED! If it didn't stop soon-

**CRACK!**

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rosette stood, the pipe screaming in her hands, the vibrations jarring her arms, blood dripping from the pipe's blunt end to fall with soft plops to the wood floor. One drop trickled to join the mass of other drops staining the floor around the two combatants.

Neither moved.

"Chro…no..?" she set the pipe on the ground, her breath trembling, trapped in her throat as she stepped over Aion to where the violet haired teen lay, facedown in the growling puddle of sink water and blood.

"Chrono?" she knelt down, nudging his shoulder, gulping stale air. Someone was yelling behind her, footsteps. "Chrono, wake up." she shook him again, her heart clawing her chest as her hand grew wet. "Wake idiot!" she rolled him onto his back, shaking his shoulders. "Chrono!" she brushed his stiff bangs from his white face, tucking then behind his ears, trailing her fingers down his neck.

There they paused.

"It's Mr. Castov!"

Th-thump.

"Someone call the police!"

Th- thump. Rosette let the sob out, pressing her hands over the slice gnawing his chest, over his pounding heart. Thank God!

"What's going on?"

Th…thump. She froze.

"Rosette-" Mr. Remington froze in the doorway.

Rosette frowned, pressing her fingers to the sticky skin.

Th…thum…p…

"No." she whispered, shaking his shoulders again, her stomach twisting as his aura flickered, thinning, the colour darkening…

Th…thu…mp.

"Rosette! Chrono!" his heart…

"Chrono, snap out of it!" Rosette pulled him onto her lap, cursing as the slash kept bleeding. Why was no one helping! "Chrono!"

"Castov's coming too! Restrain him!"

Th…thu…mp.

WHACK!

"CHRONO! WAKE THE HELL UP!" she roared, frantically patting his face.

Th…

"Chrono!" a blackness was growing in her.

Thump. Someone's hands, taking hers. No! She bent her forehead to his, keeping her hand on his pulse. She could feel it! She could...

Th…

No, no, nonononononono! The fire was coming, licking out from the blackness that poisoned his aura.

…thump…

She called, again, again, screamed, rivers washing the blood as she was pulled at, tugged at, voices nattering about labs and Europe. Who cared, someone- someone do something!

Th…

She fought as they pulled her away, a blanket smothering her shoulders. "NO!" she got an arm free, pressing it to his neck. "Do something!" they couldn't let- they couldn't- he was still-

"Rosette, please, be reasonable-"

…thump.

"Come on!" she whispered, patting his face again. "Come on-" Please, please no! It- he- not so- "Chrono, please-"

… …

"**CHRONO**-------------------------------------!!"

She stayed there, screaming, until someone pulled him from her, leading her away through darkness.

----------------------------------------------End chapter 73--------------------------------------------------------------


	74. New Time, Same Place

A/N: Hello. Dives to hide from rabid readers who're currently threatening to kill her due heinous acts Waaah! Don't kill me! Read first!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade.

----------------------Chapter 74 (WTH?)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The light above grew brighter, pushing steadily at his eyes.

"Time." Go away. He wanted to sleep. He groaned, rolling over.

"Time." some one was shaking him.

"Time!"

"Alright, I'm awak-" Chrono blinked. Staring back at him were several pairs of bright eyes, ranging in colour from gold to violet, some, like his own, containing two colours. It wasn't the eyes that got him though.

It was the fact they all had wings.

"He's awake!" A green-eyed angel cheered, hugging him. "Time, you're back! You're back, you're back!"

"Abigail, that's enough!" A sterner male angel warned, glaring at her from under his thick black bangs. "Go tell the Master."

"Yes sur!" the smaller girl sighed. "Don't mind him," she hissed to Chrono. "Intelligence angels are ALWAYS so stuffy."

"I am not Abigail!"

"Bossy!"

"Immature."

"Idiot!" Chrono hid a smile, chuckling. It was just like- his eyes widened.

Angels?

Time?

Wings? The angel next to him smiled sadly, squeezing his shoulder.

"Stay strong." she whispered.

"So, he is awake." the soft Voice boomed through the large stone room as the door opened for Him to enter. The other angels parted swiftly, kneeling as he passed, their wings sweeping the floor with multicoloured feathers.

"So." He stopped by the bed and Chrono gulped, quickly bowing his head, wincing.

Ow! He fingered the amplifier. He still had it?

"It has been a very long passing, Time, since I last changed a soul." The Lord murmured, "Perhaps I'm growing older," he chuckled, "Or I am out of practice."

"I- I'm sorry, sir." Chrono flexed his fingers, watching the blankets ripple. HE laughed.

"Time, that is not an issue here- after all; you helped stop Superior from taking over heaven. No, as far as rewards go, returning your soul to heaven is the least we can do!" Abigail chirped. Intelligence shot her a dirty look. Chrono forced himself to smile.

"I…thank you then…for saving me." The Lord remained silent, studying him for a moment.

"Intelligence, who is monitoring Earth?"

"Uh-" he blushed. "Sorry sir!" he scurried away, red from his face to his wingtips. Abby laughed, following him.

"You're dismissed," HE said. "You may take a break."

"Hurrah!" the angels cheered, darting away.

"Not quite the way they picture heaven on earth, is it?" HE stood, His eyes on the far window.

"No." Chrono agreed. "It isn't." It wasn't THAT different from earth, barring the 'minor' fact that… he gulped, drawing his knees to his chest.

"Superior has yet to be stripped of his angelic powers. He is, however, in custody for numerous crimes." He looked up. HE smiled. "You have done well, Time." Chrono stiffened as his face was tipped up. "You long ago earned the right to look me in the eye, youngest of the High Angels. However, you have not yet done your job." Chrono gasped, looking up on his own. The Highest of Angels nodded. "Time had not yet arrived for you, Chrono. Some things cannot be done until they're undone."

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"I'm sorry, but there's no way I can put this article in Musek." Rika sighed, trying to adjust her wire rimmed glasses while holding her café special, looking at said junk article, making notes in her planner and balancing the office phone on her shoulder. "Yes, I know how hard you worked on it, and if- no, I can't do it here. Not over the phone." She raised a hand to wave to Mary, their photographer, groaning as she remembered she was holding her special and the thick, creamy chocolate sloshed over her new tan blouse, trickling down the front. "Help me!" she dabbed fruitlessly at the growing stain with the napkins Russell, the other roving writer/ journalist and photographer/ flat mate working on the paper, tossed her. She mouthed 'thanks' before returning to the phone. "I'm very sorry, but the facts in your report are all wrong- yes, they are. I looked them up. No, I'm not the editor, but I won't have illegitimate information wriggling into the paper. If I let that happen, the MuseK will be no better than a gossip rag. Good day." She sighed, hanging up the phone and pouring the last of her drink into the over watered African violet sitting on her desk.

"Nattily again? Geez Rika, just sign the poor girl on to Rena and save us the trouble." Mary grumbled, calling up the cover for the next issue on her computer screen. "You think this looks good?"

"Yeah, great." she barely looked up, trying to rescue her shirt. It'd taken months to save up for this one! Granted, besides rent, tuition and Musek, she didn't exactly have a lot of cash to spare. "Anyway, I'm not letting that twit anywhere near the paper." she switched to the stash of bottled water she kept in the rusting cooler, gulping down a dreg, ignoring the permanent copper taste. Dieing of metal poisoning- could you?- wasn't something she was greatly afraid of. "If facts are wrong, readers don't trust you. Readers don't trust you, you lose market. If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself. Excuse the cliché." she ran her fingers through her thick black hair, setting the water by the keyboard and opening her chemistry file to check for any homework she might've missed. Mary rolled her eyes.

"You're hopeless."

"Yeah. If it weren't for the fact you've kept people reading the Musek, we'd fire you before you kill yourself working." Russell patted her own blossoming violet, plucking off a rotting leaf. "Anyway, you can't keep scaring off the other students. And you're not going to have chemistry homework, Rika, it's between semesters."

"Just because you don't work over holidays-" Rika scanned her emails, frowning and deleting a couple with "Re: Please?" Or "Re: come on, listen" in the heading. Damn! Couldn't the guy give up? Blushing, she clicked off her email and resumed work on her next article, one on an up and coming musician- no surprise, that was what the magazine focused on. What it had focused on since she and her flat mates had started working on it, during their first year.

"I beg to disagree!" Mary smirked. "In fact, I have a job landed for us! There's a festival taking place, full of up and coming singers and songwriters, male and female and, Rika, seeing as you're so ready to get your facts right AND do things yourself, I've volunteered you to come along with Russell and I! Everything's planned, including a place to stay and food!" Rika raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't…by any chance…"

"Say we're a band, did you?" Russell groaned at Mary's grin-nod combination that ALWAYS foretold doom, and Rika just rubbed her temples.

"Aw come on!! There're some hotties in this one, the guys and girl's be DROOLING over them! Look!" She held out an envelope of neatly wrapped pictures in her slender hands. "I met a guy when I was travelling, he was from Newf., and he sent me these pictures, seeing as he knew the guys." Russell whistled.

"Not bad." she held up a snap shot of a guy, about their age, up on stage yowling into a microphone and murdering a guitar.

"The picture or the guy?" Rika muttered, studying the pictures. "Whoever took these has a knack with the camera."

"Hey!" Mary scooped the pictures back. "Don't you even THINK about replacing ME!"

"Not a chance." Rika held out her hands to look at the pictures again, slowly flicking through them, the pucker in her brow growing as she looked at the varying pictures. "She must have taken an awful lot of pictures." Mary smirked, dropping back into her chair and holding up a finger.

"He. HE took a lot of pictures." Russell laughed.

"Mary, if you had your way, you'd be the only girl in a world of guys, right Rika?"

"Good looking guys." Mary objected, pouting. "No weird ones."

"Uh-huh." Rika picked up her beaded shoulder bag and headed for the door. "I've got to go." Let's she, she had packing to do, she had to call someone to cover for her job at the library- she paused, staring out the window at the sprawling city before, spread out in a twinkling twilight quilt, a shiver slithering up her back. _"It's beautiful!" She leaned on the wall, staring out at the glowing city, spread like a quilt below them. "Amazing." _Damn. She turned from the window, marching down the blue-carpeted hallway. So, where was she? Library, and packing. What…"Oh smart. Forget to ask where the ruddy place is!" That was somewhat important, wasn't it? When it came to clothing anyway. Come to think of it, she hadn't asked how long they were going either. Damn those stupid pictures- no! No, don't THINK about them! Her heart clenched, tighter, tighter, devouring her breath, her eyes watering. "Aw…" shivering, she tugged at the sweater she'd pulled on over her stained shirt and headed back towards the flat, pulling a pamphlet from her bag. Let's see- yes, there were a couple of the pictures from the set Mary had shown her, plus some others.

"Come join us for **Up -and coming- beat!**" it read. "There, you can watch new bands such as Tiny Little Pond, The Jakly Pals, Angelic Demon, the Dynamic Sunshine Girls-"

What? Rika groaned, leaning against the bus stop sign. During their first year on the magazine, their chief editor- a perverted old man, no less- had come up with a great way to get exclusive interviews with bands- by having his reporters dress up as a girl band and -literally- get into the act.

A band called the Dynamic Sunshine Girls. She twisted a lock of hair around her finger as she got on the bus. If only he hadn't heard her sing…but that was fine. She liked performing- or, she did until- **Oh where was the damn thing taking place!** Scowling, her blue eyes snapped over the paper- there- closing her eyes, she let the paper fall from her shaking hands. Right, plan. So, first, she would need a sweater, then she would need her dress for the concert, and a pair of shorts- how long would they be gone? They were just there to interview the bands, how bad could it be?

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"Shit shit shit!" Mary wailed, screeching into the parking lot. "I frigging don't believe this! How can a plane be delayed by fog in the middle of fucking SUMMER!"

"Watch you language." Rika kept her eyes on the novel she was reading. "We do have examples to set."

"Besides!" Russell grinned. "St. John's airport was DESIGNED during the war to be hard for enemy planes to land in- that made it hard for regular planes too!"

"I don't care! Rika, how can you be so calm! This is a STORY we're going to lose-" she didn't look up from her book or stop winding her bang around her finger.

"We won't lose it." Russell announced, clapping her hands. "We just have to go strait to the concert and find our rooms later!"

"Right." Mary muttered, slinging her guitar over her shoulder. "Come on then." Still swearing, she stormed up the stairs, the others at her heels, squeezing between spectators and other musicians. Rika swallowed. Why couldn't it have changed in the past five years instead of mocking her like a ghost?

"Mary, relax will you?" Russell groaned as the other girl charged on. "Honestly-"

"Aug! Watch where you're going, bastard!" Mary shrieked. The other two rolled their eyes and ran to find out the latest disaster.

"I'm so sorry Miss! Really I-!"

Mary was screaming at the guy, probably about their age, who was scrambling trying to pick up an assortment of musical objects that had scattered across the floor when Mary had clipped him with her guitar on passing. Rika bent and picked up a roll of guitar string while Russell grabbed hold of Mary.

"Nothing broke, I hope." she said softly, handing it to him.

"What- oh, heh, no, it's fine." he seemed to smile, and she cursed the dim lighting.

"Rrg! Let me at him!" Mary bellowed, struggling. "He's gonna pay!"

"Mare, you were the one who knocked him down!" Russell smiled weakly at the guy, but at that minute, Mary pulled free and leapt at him, scratching at him with her inch long fake nails.

"OW! Sassafras, I said- ow- I'm sorry-"

Rika froze as the hall twisted around her.

He'd said sassafras.

Sassafras.

_"Sassafras! Sassafras and vinegar!_"

"No…" she couldn't- he couldn't-

"Rika!" Rika? No…she should've told them but…

Oh god, why did she have to have this happen? It was five years ago. It had been five years ago, he was gone-

"Rosette!"

-------------------------------------------------End chapter 74-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: uu


	75. A Future With You

A/N: I don't know what to say. I really don't. I'm sorry. Sorry for all the fan fiction stories I stopped reading in the past few weeks, I guess. I will read them now. Sniffle Um…a lot of people were confused by the last chapter. I hope you come to understand all.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade, I can barely spell it. Bows Thank you!

----------------------------------------------------Chapter 75-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Another night of falling rain / your memory flickers like a flame_

_It echoes like a distant tune / Dances on the four wall of my room._

"Dear Ros… no, to formal." The violet haired man paused, tapping a well-chewed pencil against his lip. Geez. Why was it so hard to start a letter (or an email, he'd tried both).

_It echoes like a distant tune / dances on the four wall of my room._

He sat up, trying to straiten the sleeping bag. Of course it was hard to write the letter! It was only…he frowned. If he went to _exactly_ a year after he started writing, he'd be at his 1825th letter. Well, maybe a little less than that, because lately he'd dropped off to once a week.

It would be so much easier if he'd gotten a response.

_With hair as black as a book of prayer / Your laughter filled the morning air._

"Uncle Chrono!" Marie stuck her head around the door. "We're home!"

"What?" he put on a face of mock-shock, jumping up. "What do you mean you're back so fast?"

"Uncle Chrono!" Marie, Tawny and Kye stood back as Jane, Kari, Keith, Kino, Ben and Jacky, the New Brood as they were called, flocked over, jabbering about how school had been, how they'd taken a field trip, and could they bake cookies tomorrow? Nina was the only child of Aion's who was currently with her parents- the rest had opted to spend time at Chrono's whenever possible, with the exception of Kye, who's mother was currently studying an archaeological site in Peru. As Mr. Remington said, he couldn't blame them.

"Whoa!" Chrono laughed, putting the half written letter in the stack of papers on the

milk-crate desk. "Take it easy! Now, one at a time…"

_Now it doesn't seem so long ago / but how we ever parted I don't know._

Chrono hummed, his feet pattering lightly on the sun-warmed pavement, a breeze tugging at his tee shirt. "Alright." He had awhile before the concert, but Brad and the others had called saying they'd forgotten their percussion sticks again. This was getting stupid- how many times did he have to get their things after they'd gone off flirting? Grow up.

_Where are you now? -so far away_

_If only some how the night would disappear, and I could have you here!_

He paused by the railing overlooking the harbour, watching as a ship docked before stopping at Brad's apartment to pick up the needed sticks, turning off the radio sitting on the kitchen table blaring out Demonic Angel's latest hit, Kissing Rain.

_There's a breeze on the water / blowing time back to me._

Rosette.

Why hadn't she responded to his messages? He chewed his lip, meandering past a café. Surely she'd gotten _one_ of them.

And maybe she didn't want to see him. His heart twisted at that possibility, but…in all likely hood, that's exactly what it was too, wasn't it?

_I can still see your face _

_Kissing rain…_

Shaking the thought away, he pushed open the performers' only door at Kilo One and stepped into the cool stone hall, shivering, a prickle tapping across his shoulders. He could've sworn-

"Rika, come on!" He turned, the prickle growing as a third girl mounted the steps, her aura dull.

_We wandered through the hundred days_

_And watched the stars on Half-moon bay_

_Then like the season you were gone_

_You left me on a frozen April dawn._

_You were the storm -in my sky._

_If only once more I could be so free,_

_Feel you washing over me!_

He froze, watching the pale face ringed in dark hair (she dyed it?). She looked so much older, paler, as if… he took a step towards the girl-

_There's a long cool river / running wild to the sea, and I am calling your name, Kissing rain._

WHAP!

"Watch where you're going, bastard!" a blonde haired girl shrieked as he scrambled to gather the mallets he'd dropped, his head throbbing from where her guitar had clipped his temple.

"Ow! I'm sorry! Miss!" he yelped. _I'm a prisoner of time and I'm chained to memories._

"Oh I just bet you are you pathetic excuse-"

"Mary, calm down!" One of the other girls ran over, smiling apologetically. "I'm ow- MARY!- sorry! She gets like this sometimes."

"Lemme attem!" Mary snarled, struggling. "He's gonna pay!"

"Mare, you were the one who knocked him down!"

"Don't mind her," Rosette said, smiling- could she see him? Say something! He pleaded. Please! Unfortunately, Mary broke free and started clawing at his face.

"Ow! Ow! I said I'm sorry! Sassafras!" Ice charged up his back and he pushed the other girl away, dashing to Rosette as she gasped, falling. "Rosette!"

_How can you be so free? _

"What happened!" Mary shrieked, scuttling over. "What did you do to her, bastard! You cast a spell on her! I bet those aren't mallets!"

"Mary, doll, WILL YOU LEAVE THE GUY ALONE!" The other girl in Rosette's group snapped, crouching down. "Is she alright?" He nodded, lifting her up bridal style (Didn't he wish).

"I think she just fainted, not that I've known her to be a fainting sort. That's my department. You her band-mates?"

"Where are you taking her!" Mary squealed, and he braced himself for a second (third?) attack, but the other held her back. "I'll tell the- the stadium manager about this! I will, I know him personally!"

"Mary, give it up! Yes. I'm Russ by the way. You a stage hand?"

"Chrono D'Crusa. And the stadium manager is a woman. Satella Harvenhiet." he pushed the door to his rehearsal room open with his hip. "This is my rehearsal room for the show, but I'm sharing it with a couple other bands. You are-"

"The Dynamic Sunshine-"

"Yeah, you're in here anyway." he grunted, sitting Rosette on the cracked leather bench. "Come on, wake up." he grumbled, kneeling on the floor in front of her as she slipped sideways, a small silver pendent slipping out from beneath her collar. Heart frothing his blood, he fingered the tiny forget-me-nots.

"Oy, D'Crusa. What's up? You finally decide to end your waiting?" Brad asked, sauntering in. "Who're these lovely creatures?" Sensibly, Mary and Russ inched away.

"Rosette! And no, I'm not done waiting." Roy laughed, clapping Brad on the shoulder.

"Told ya man! D'Crusa's stubborn. He's not going with another girl!"

"Hey, are all in a band too?" Russ asked, trying to find a place to sit that wasn't covered in candy wrappers, yellowed stuffing and gum. Rosette, wake up! Chrono chewed his lip, watching her face. She wasn't hurt but- he glanced briefly at the others, all seated on the benches around the old coffee table.

"Brad 'n I 're members of Tiny Little Pond, but D'Crusa's a solo artist." Roy chugged his cola. "He plays with us, now 'n again, like today, but he usually flies lonely. He likes it, although that shouldn't be an excuse for being a virgin- the Demonic Angel is more popular then all of us guys put together!" Chrono snorted. Waiting, waiting.

"Come on…!" he hissed through gritted teeth. She was so pale! But then, she'd looked pale coming in, and the dim lighting wasn't really helping. Still, bad lighting, bookish glasses (like his) and dyed hair couldn't hide the large eyes with long lashes, the pert nose, her mouth- nuh-uh, don't go there, D'Crusa. Tempting. Very, very…

"What the fuck!" He yelped, knocked back as she sat up with a small scream, her face going whiter. "How- what- what the-" her hands floundered at her hips looking- looking for- a gun! He hid his grin- if anything showed who she was, it was this! "You- no!" she scrambled up, backing away, her eyes blazing. "You bastard! I don't know who the hell you are, but this is horrible! How dare you-" He stood, but he was watching her aura. It was still dim, but streaks of her blue were showing in it again. Slowly, he stepped closer, trying not to bite his lip as she stepped back again.

"Ro-" he reached for her, his breath lost.

"No!" she shook her head, still searching for a weapon. She settled for clenching her fists. "G-get away! Y-you were dead!"

"Rika!" Mary jumped up, but Brad caught her arm.

"Don't." he made her sit down. "Chrono won't hurt her. He'd kill himself first."

Rosette stood, staring at the man before her, her heart twisting. He looked just- well, not _just_ like him. He was older, but then, so was she- but he was dead! "NO!" she choked as he stepped closer. "NO!" his hair, thick and violet, it was longer, its tight twisted braid draping halfway down his back, his eyes- those eyes- red, gold, just as she remembered. "You were dead!" she took a step back, shaking her head. "You were dead! I- I was there!" His hand- long fingers- from playing guitar, she supposed, reached for her face, a flower reaching for sun. "I- you were lying there, after I kn-knocked Aion o-out, and-" the shaking wouldn't stop.

"Rosette-" he was a ghost! He had to be. Except ghosts looked like the person did when they died. "Rosette, I wasn't dead- er well, I kinda was- but not really- I mean, it wasn't time yet, so I got sent back- Aion was still causing trouble- he's in jail now- but-"

"No…" he was so close! Against herself, she answered the shy fingers on her face with her own, nudging is cheek. "You're dead- I know you were- I was there!" she croaked. Damn, she couldn't see! "Y-you weren't moving, and I- I tried to get you to wake up, but you wouldn't! And- your heart! I-It was b-beating but t-then, i-it slowed down, and I kept screaming, but no one would h-help." she sobbed, burrowing her face in the soft knit of his shirt. "You- you were so c-cold, and…" His arms pulled her to him, pressing her against him- he was so tall! She struggled for a minute, it was a trick- but beneath her ear, she could hear it.

His heart.

He was alive, holding tight, taking her ice and her shudders.

He-

OH HELL! She shoved him away, gasping, her eyes flashing even as his widened in surprise.

"You- you- ! You were alive this whole time and you left me to MOURN for FIVE YEARS?! DID IT OCCUR TO YOU TO TELL ME?! JERK!" Her shriek silenced the other's chatting. Chrono stood, frozen for a moment before flushing red, his hands curling.

"I tried-"

"I SPENT FIVE GODDAMNED YEARS- 5!- UNABLE TO- TO-"

"I never asked you to wait that long! You didn't have to mourn at all!" he snapped. "And I did try to contact you, dammit! I went back to the LABS for pity's sake! I didn't ask you to change your stupid name!"

"I had to disappear!"

"Well you did a pretty sass good job, Rika Saunders!"

"Shut up! It was that or following my father!"

"Yeah, but you didn't have to change your NAME! And you didn't tell Azzy or the others!"

"Maybe I didn't want them to find me either!"

"Oh, you wanted to forget all about us?" he paused, eyes softening.

"-- Bastard!" Damn him! He could be as sympathetic as he like, he was still a bastard for not finding her, screw her name change!

WHACK! They both stilled, looking at her hand.

Russell and Mary stared, slack jawed.

"She-she hit him!" Mary croaked, covering her mouth. "Oh no-"

"Hey Guys!" the door opened and Mr. Remington stuck his head in. "You're on in a few for your combination piece, so make sure you're ready." He blinked, frowning at the duo standing back to back, their noses in the air. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No."

"He's just being stupid."

"_I'm _being stupid?!"

"Very!" Brad laughed, leading Russell and Mary from the room.

"Best let them be." Roy agreed. "We stick around and they'll be at it for hours."

"HOURS!" Mary squawked. Russell swatted her.

"He's speaking figuratively!"

"Nope." Brad shook his head as they passed the vending machines. "Chrono and Rosette have been known to keep stupid arguments running for days." he glanced over his shoulder as the other two followed, 'glaring' at each other. Remington grinned as they reached the stage doors. Beyond, they could hear the crowd, chattering, cheering.

"Big group." Rosette noted, swallowing. "I still get butterflies." Chrono smiled, leaning on the door jam.

"Me too."

"Shut up Mr. Super-popular."

"I didn't want to be popular. I wanted to be found."

"Oh."

"And go!" the door opened in a wash of blue smoke and the others rushed, yelling and cheering to the clatter of applause and whistles. Rosette hesitated, peering around the corner at the black before the brilliance. Chrono turned, halfway there.

"Hey Rosette?" He held out his hand.

"Yeah?" she took it, holding tightly as the smoke cleared, slithering around their feet.

"Are you mad?" One step, two steps, three steps, four.

"Damn right I am!" Out into the spotlight, together once more.

"Oh." She smacked into him as he stopped short, chewing his lip. What was _with_ him! "Am I going to have to hit you again?"

"Since when did you ask?"

Whack!

"That's my Rosette!" he whirled and planted a kiss on her lips.

Once again, they froze in surprise, eyes to eyes. Chrono swallowed, tugging lightly at her pendent.

"I missed you." he whispered, stepping close again. She nodded, dropping her forehead to his chest.

"Whooo!" the spotlight's eye shattered the cocoon of black around them, lighting the embrace like a New Years firework.

"Oops." Chrono squeaked, darting away as she lunged, murder in her eyes.

"CHRONO D'CRUSA!"

"Rika- Rosette!" Mary shoved a microphone in her hands. "Come on!" they'd run onto the stage! She tried to hide her blush as she stumbled to centre stage. Oh sassafras! There were so many of them, all chanting and cheering- she steadied herself. She'd done this tonnes of times! She opened her mouth as the music start, but the words were caught, stodged up like tears in a bottle. Why- another pair of hands wrapped around her microphone, another face next to hers.

"So you've come to this bridge, in an unfamiliar land

And you know it's a bridge you are going to walk on

And the only thing you know is

Everything you know

Will do you no good from here on." she shook him off, clenching the mike and scowling at him as he shrugged and backed away, picking up his own mike, mouthing 'as you like it.' as she took over.

"And the day that you spin  
From your little cocoon-  
Well, you can't be prepared  
For the beauty you'll find there.  
And you will find beauty,  
In the toughest of places.  
And I will be thinking of you out there."

"So pick up your bags.  
Look around at your friends  
And you know none of them  
Would ever have enough strength  
To cross the bridge and lose control…  
I never felt this bold.  
Never felt this good."

"And the day that you spin  
From your little cocoon-  
Well, you can't be prepared,  
For the beauty you'll find there.  
And you will find beauty  
In the toughest of places.  
And I will be thinking of you."

"Stay true to your nomad skies  
Keep your eyes out for coyote.  
A thousand secrets are lost  
In the archival dust  
So lay your ears upon the tracks."

"One day you will come back.  
With wrinkled hands and grey hair.  
And there you will stand on the spot  
And you'll marvel how the place is still the same,  
Though you are somebody else now.  
Fly on butterfly."

"And the day that you spin  
From your little cocoon  
Well, you can't be prepared  
For the beauty you'll find there.  
And you will find beauty  
In the toughest of places.  
And I will be thinking of you out there."

"Well!" Rosette glared at him. "Some one stole my first song rights! Jerk! I don't know where the angelic part comes in, but-" she waited for the crowd to stop laughing. "It's my turn to choose now. Help if you can. If you know it, that is!"

"Be my guest." Chrono bowed, his gold eye sparking. Shit. She'd forgotten that.

She closed her eyes; letting the harsh spotlights scar her face, etch it before she opened her mouth.

"You and me we were the pretenders  
We let it all slip away  
In the end what you don't surrender  
Well the world just strips away." Chrono leaned back a little, cradling the mike, his eyes hot on her face.

"Girl, there ain't no kindness in the face of strangers  
Ain't gonna find no miracles here  
Well you can wait on your blessings my darling  
I got a deal for you right here…  
I ain't looking for praise or pity.  
I ain't coming round searching for a crutch.  
I just want someone to talk to-  
And a little of that human touch  
Just a little of that human touch"

She straitened her shoulders, meeting his eyes with her cool ones, taking tipping her mike to him. He nodded with the cue and raised his own.

"Ain't no mercy on the streets of this town" He continued, shaking his hair from his eyes.  
"Ain't no bread from heavenly skies.  
Ain't nobody drawing wine from this blood.  
It's just you and me tonight.  
Tell me, in a world without pity  
Do you think what Im askin's too much?  
I just want something to hold on to  
And a little of that human touch.  
Just a little of that human touch." her heart bumped, and she slowly reached out her hand, curling it around his, putting her other hand on her hip.

"Well boy, that feeling of safety that you prize;  
Well it comes at a hard hard price.  
You can't shut off the risk and the pain  
Without losing the love that remains  
We're all riders on this train." she snapped, pulling away, yelping as she tripped on the cord. As usual, he caught her. Man, it was irritating! He pouted.

"So you've been broken and you've been hurt.  
Show me somebody who ain't.  
Yeah, I know I ain't nobody's bargain  
But, hell, a little touch up and a little paint...  
You might need something to hold on to  
When all the answers, they don't amount to much.  
Somebody that you could just to talk to-"

"-And a little of that human touch.  
Baby, in a world without pity  
Do you think what I'm askin's too much?  
I just want to feel you in my arms  
Share a little of that human touch.  
Feel a little of that human touch.  
Give me a little of that human touch…"

"Let's have a round of applause, ladies and gents-" the MC yelled, not that it was necessary, as he was barely audible over the crowds standing ovation. "Give it up for The Dynamic Sunshine Girls, Tiny Little Pond and Angelic Demon!"

They grinned, waving before heading back stage, hand in hand- after all, that's how they'd done everything, off and on for the past few centuries.

Together.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------End!

A/N: Kyaaa! I know, a weird ending for a weird story. Ending notes:

Songs: "Kissing Rain" by Roch Voisine.

: "Beauty" by Shaye (Two Newfoundland girls in there! Yeah!)

: "Human Touch" by Bruce Springsteen. I've been wanting to put that one in for awhile, and now I could!

Also, I had a request for Demolition Lovers, by My Chemical Romance, but I haven't heard it, and I didn't think it right to put it in if I hadn't heard it. Sorry.

Now, for story details: Aion is now in jail, Grey and Golden are reborn/ going to be reborn on Earth, Chrono was revived because according to the Holy One, he hadn't finished his job- ie, settled things with Rosette. So, he was sent back to Earth, his status as an angel returned, so he now has a regular human lifespan. Um…other notes…can't think of anything of great value… except…

**THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! **to everyone who read, reviewed, put up with my constant squealing on the posting of a new chapter or a particularly nice review. Thank you, my computer, for having enough memory to handle this story and my instances of writer's block! -

THANK YOU!!!! I really, really hope you liked my story- I liked writing it!A/N: I don't know what to say. I really don't. I'm sorry. Sorry for all the fan fiction stories I stopped reading in the past few weeks, I guess. I will read them now. Sniffle Um…a lot of people were confused by the last chapter. I hope you come to understand all.

Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Crusade, I can barely spell it. Bows Thank you!

------------------------------The end----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


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